Timeless Longing
by MadameCissy
Summary: Hermione is accidentally sent back in time. When her path crosses that of a young Bellatrix Lestrange she has to choose between past and future. Either choice is going to change the world. Hermione/Bellatrix.
1. Pieces Of Time

Written for the "Best Friends Falling In Love Challenge" by opaque-girl **  
****Pairing:**Bellatrix Black / Hermione Granger  
**Timeline:** Completely AU. _1999-1969_ / _1969-1999 _

**Summary:** Hermione is given a Time Turner to assist her in her research during her seventh year. During an accident the Time Turner breaks and when she wakes up she finds herself trapped in a different timeline. It is 1969; Bellatrix Black's seventh year at Hogwarts. Hermione finds herself having to fight for survival and forms an unusual friendship with the dark haired witch and her two sisters. When friendship changes into love, she is literally trapped between two worlds with an impossible choice to make.

* * *

"_Love knows not what time is"  
~Unknown~_

* * *

**September 1999**

"Miss Granger, surely I do not need to remind you of both the dangers and the consequences of using a Time Turner?" Minerva McGonagall looked over the rim over glasses. Emerald green eyes found the student sitting across her desk. She knew she did not have to remind her but rules and regulations stated she had to make herself very clear.

"Of course not, Professor. And I would like to thank you once again for allowing me to do this research" Hermione answered. It was the second day of her seventh year at Hogwarts. There was a time she had not considered coming back here. After the war something like education had seemed minimal, even to her. But her desire for knowledge and completion won from her heart and so she returned to Hogwarts. She was the only one out of the trio that had returned. Harry and Ron had both started their Auror training at the Ministry. "I know that during the war most Time Turners were destroyed and this is most likely the only one remaining"

She looked at the golden chain with the hour glass pendant lying on Professor McGonagall's desk. The Time Turner was familiar to her. It was not the first time she would use it. In had been in her third year, when she had been so desperate to take all her classes, that her Head of House had allowed her to use it. And now, several years later, she would wear the chain around her neck again. However this time it had nothing to do with her classes but everything with the project she was about to research. She would use it as a way to secure a job inside the Ministry once finished at Hogwarts.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" McGonagall asked but Hermione shook her head. "Very well. You may return to your dormitories and I look forward to seeing you in class first thing in the morning"

Hermione smiled. "I look forward to it, Professor. It is double Transfiguration first thing" She stood up, carefully took the golden chain with the Time Turner from the desk and hung it safely around her neck. She glanced at McGonagall, who was watching her, before she turned around and left her Professor's office. She made her way back through the newly restored corridors. There was nothing left that would remind anyone of the Battle that took place here several months ago. Nothing but the plaque in the Great Hall with all the names of those who had fallen. But the castle looked stronger than ever. It had overcome the forces of evil and was ready to raise another generation of witches and wizards.

After taking a detour that led her through most of the castle, Hermione reached the Gryffindor common room and crawled through the portrait hole. Ginny was sitting by the fire place, waiting for her. Subconsciously Hermione's eyes searched the room looking for Harry or Ron, only to be reminded that neither had returned to school. It was strange being here without them. For the last seven years they had been part of her daily life. She sat down beside Ginny and pulled her legs up underneath her.

"You got it sorted then?" Ginny asked curiously. She spotted the chain hanging around Hermione's neck. Her eyes widened. She knew Hermione had used a Time Turner before, she had heard the stories but she had never actually seen one. "How does it work?"

Hermione carefully held the pendant in her hand. "You twist the hour glass. Say you want to go back in time for five hours, you spin it five times. The travel ends when you return to the point where you first went back in time. Get it?" She glanced at Ginny and her friend nodded. "It is not really meant for long distance time travelling. And I doubt people would cope well with that. It was confusing enough to go back in time for just one hour!"

"Can they change the timeline?" Ginny questioned curiously. The Time Turner seemed like a powerful tool that one was not to mess with. But if they could change the time line completely it meant that certain things could be undone. Horrible things. "And what if you don't make it back to the place you started off from?"

Hermione smiled. That last thought was something that always crossed her mind. It was that fear that had held her captive all the way through her third year. "I am not sure about altering the time lines and things like paradoxes and Merlin knows what else. I have always been too careful to allow such a thing to happen. But events can be recreated. I mean, that is what we did when changed Sirius. But whether they can be completely altered..."

Ginny frowned. She could see the appeal of owning a Time Turner, though in her mind most of those reasons had something to do with mischief. "So what is it you are exactly going to use it for? I mean, we don't have that many classes and you already know how the thing works so why have it?"

"I want to see whether the use of a Time Turner influences one's magical abilities and whether magic used whilst going back in time leaves traces that can be detected in present time – therefore creating the possibility that even if you are not seen, your magic still is" Hermione answered. "And if it proves magic does leave traces, perhaps a solution can be found. After all, the whole idea is that no one knows you have gone back in time" It sounded like a weak subject and she was not quite sure about the difference it would make but she was hopeful she would discover something that would really put her name on the map at the Ministry.

There was a silence between the two friends. Around them, several other students had begun to play games. A passionate game of Exploding Snap had come to live between Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan and several others were watching and cheering them on. Hermione glanced at Ginny. Ginny glanced back. And while they missed the presence of Ron and Harry they both realized something. This really was another year at Hogwarts and it seemed everything had truly returned to normal.

* * *

Falling back into a school routine was surprisingly easy or so Hermione found. After having spent a whole year away from school it was far less difficult to find the routine and structure that came with her classes and her homework. Even though she had not been in school for a year she found it easy to reconnect with the material given to her and quickly found herself top of the class again. This was much to the approval of Professor McGonagall.

The first weeks of September began to fade and the final days of summer sunshine were replaced by the thick grey rainclouds of autumn. Hermione found herself in the company of Ginny most days and the more time passed, the less she missed the presence of Ron and Harry. She had never before realized how Harry's constant obsessing over Draco Malfoy had gotten on her wits or how Ron's irritating, childish behaviour had almost driven her insane. However, the subject of Harry's hatred and obsession, Draco Malfoy, had returned to Hogwarts too. Though Hermione saw nothing of the boy he used to be. Few Slytherin students had returned. Most of them were unwilling to face the shame. Draco was quiet and withdrawn. His air of arrogance had faded and often she would find him sitting alone, away from the few classmates that had returned.

It was nearly the end of September when one morning Hermione made her way down the spiral staircase leading down from Gryffindor Tower. It was Friday, which meant she had double Potions this morning. From behind her came the excited voices of what sounded like a group of first or second years. Hermione increased her pace, knowing full well that the young ones would rush past her anyway. Her bag felt heavy. Perhaps she shouldn't have put any of the books she didn't need in. She glanced over her shoulder as the voices behind her continued. Were they... screaming?

They were screaming in laughter and some shrieked in despair. And it did not take her long to realize why. A large group of first and second years came running down the stairs. Some of them covered their heads with their arms, others used their bags. A few had given up and they looked thoroughly drenched. A water balloon came whizzing past and Hermione instinctively looked up. The only creature she knew to throw water balloons around the castle was Peeves.

And before she fully realized what had happened, one of those balloons hit her on her head. Cold water seeped down her neck and into her robes. Anger boiled in her veins. Just as she was about to open her mouth and shout at the annoying poltergeist, one of the second years lost her balance on the slippery steps. Hermione saw her coming but she had nowhere to go. Time passed as if in slow motion. She caught the girl's eyes just before she crashed into her. They were riddled with fear. Hermione felt herself topple over. The air was crushed out of her lungs and the next thing she felt was a sharp pain as her body crashed against the stone steps. She rolled over and over, her head banging against the concrete stairs. Behind her she could hear screaming but the world became a blur. Something pulled at her; it felt like a cold wind that caught her hair. And then... A sickening crash suddenly made the world go black.

She never heard the voice that shrieked in horror "Oh my God... where is she?"

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she became aware of was the pain. Her body ached everywhere. With a groan, she attempted to sit up only to find the world began to spin before her eyes.

"Not a good idea, Hermione" she muttered to herself and lay herself back down on what felt like a cold floor. Somewhere in the back of her mind the events of what happened began to return to her. She had been walking down the stairs... And Peeves had thrown a balloon... And someone...someone had fallen and then they both fell down the stairs... With the scene now becoming clear, Hermione reached up a shaking hand. She touched the side of her face. Something warm and sticky trickled down her cheek and when she looked at the tips of her fingers she was horrified to find blood. Only then did she realize the intense silence around her.

_Where is everybody_, she wondered. Surely they would not have left her at the bottom of the stairs and just gone to class?

She attempted again to sit up and this time the dizziness did not wash over her. She pushed herself up and leant against the wall. She had a thumping headache and her arms and legs ached. Slowly she turned around and looked at the spiral staircase. This was most definitely the bottom of Gryffindor Tower. It was the same stairs. But where was everybody?

"Who the bloody devil are you?"

She spun around at the sound of a familiar voice. Her eyes widened when she discovered Horace Slughorn standing behind her. His eyes had widened as he stared at her. But there was something about him, Hermione noticed. He looked different.

"Professor Slughorn, it's me. Hermione Granger!" Hermione said but she saw no recognition dawn in her Potions teacher's eyes. Desperation fell over her. Surely he knew who she was? "You have known me for two years. I am Harry Potter's best friend!"

Slughorn looked at her as if he saw water burn. "Harry Potter? I have never heard of that name. And I have not heard of a Hermione Granger either. Who are you and how did you get inside this castle?"

A terrible feeling began to dawn on Hermione and her eyes dropped to the gold chain around her neck. She let it run through her fingers and then, when she reached the hour glass pendant, she felt her heart freeze in her chest. The pendant had broken. Tiny pieces of glass lay scattered across the floor. "No..No...nono..." she whispered and her eyes snapped back up to Slughorn. Her brain was working quickly. If he was a teacher, it meant that McGonagall was around too. And Dumbledore of course. Two names she knew she could trust and two people who would believe her. It was likely Dumbledore was Headmaster by now, though she could not be certain. It appeared as if Slughorn recognized the Time Turner around Hermione's neck because the weary look in his eyes rapidly faded.

"Professor, I know this all looks very strange but _this_ is a Time Turner" Hermione said as she showed him the necklace. He vaguely nodded. "I had an accident in my own time and it appears the Time Turner broke, sending me back in time. I have no idea where I am but it is outmost important that I speak to Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. My presence here could alter timelines in ways we cannot imagine"

Slughorn seemed to weigh his options for a moment or two but then he decided Hermione's story was plausible. He nodded. "Come with me... err... Miss Granger?"

She followed Slughorn through the familiar corridors of Hogwarts. When they eventually arrived outside the Head Master's office, Hermione was relieved to see that it had not changed. It was still located behind a statue of a gargoyle on the seventh floor.

"Fudge Flies" Slughorn said and Hermione's heart leapt up in her chest. It had always been Dumbledore's habit of creating passwords that were based on sweets. But at the same time she realized she was about to face the man she knew to be dead in her own time. She had seen his lifeless body at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower, murdered by what she had then believed to be Snape. And it had been Snape. But not in the way she believed it then. A hollow feeling crept into her chest as she followed Slughorn up the spiral staircase. She knew what would happen in the future. She had so much information. She could change everything.

Slughorn knocked on the door leading to the Head Master's office and Dumbledore's familiar voice called them in. Tears stung behind Hermione's eyes when she stepped into the office and for a moment or two she could not look at the Head Master. But when she did, she was surprised to see he looked very little like she remembered him. His beard was shorter and his hair still slightly darker. Whatever this time was, she must have gone years back. Her brain was still working. Slughorn had retired in 1981 which meant it had to be before that.

"Horace" Dumbledore spoke friendly and then his blue eyes found Hermione. He slightly frowned. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I was about to go for my morning walk when I came across Gryffindor Tower and discovered this young lady, Head Master. She is not a student at this school yet she wears Gryffindor robes" Slughorn said and Hermione glanced at him. "And she says she wears a Time Turner"

"Very well Horace. You can go" Dumbledore said as he eyed up Hermione. Slughorn turned around and left the office. The door closed behind him and Hermione now found herself in the presence of the wizard whom she knew to be dead. With a kind gesture, Dumbledore pointed at one of his chairs and Hermione sat down. Her body ached everywhere and suddenly she felt very tired. Her head was thumping and dark red blood still dripped down from the gash on the side of her head. Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, pressed the tips of his fingers together and looked at her. "Who are you?"

"Hermione Granger, sir" Hermione answered weakly "And Professor Slughorn was right. He did find me at the bottom of Gryffindor Tower. And I am wearing a Time Turner... however... it is broken"

That last word made Dumbledore look up. He stood up from his desk, walked around it and then took the necklace that hung around Hermione's neck. He studied it for a moment or two and then let it go. "This is a very familiar looking Time Turner, Miss Granger. I assume that in your time there is a Professor McGonagall?"

Hermione nodded. She wondered if the Time Turner had once been specifically meant for Professor McGonagall. "There is, sir. She is errr..." She paused, unsure whether she should tell him or not.

"You can tell me. It will not alter the timeline, Miss Granger. However, I do suggest we minimize the impact of your unexpected arrival here" Dumbledore said and briefly it appeared as if he was thinking hard about something. He then sat back down and looked at Hermione.

"Professor McGonagall is our Transfigurations teacher and Head of Gryffindor House" Hermione answered, leaving out the fact that Minerva McGonagall was also Head Mistress of Hogwarts. She did not want to tell Dumbledore that in her timeline he was already dead. "She gave me this Time Turner a few weeks ago so I could use it in a project that will help me gain entry to the Ministry. I was wearing it when..." She sighed. It almost sounded too unreal to be true. "It was a stupid accident. Peeves was throwing water balloons at passing students. A second year slipped, we both fell down the stairs. I woke up at the bottom of the stairs but in a different year..." She pointed at the Time Turner around her neck. "It broke"

There was a knock on the door before it swung open. Hermione looked over her shoulder and was shocked to find Minerva McGonagall walk into the office. She looked younger than she knew her Head Mistress to be. Her dark hair was still neatly bound back in a bun in the back of neck but she was not wearing glasses on her bony noses. Inquisitive green eyes almost instantly found Hermione and they widened in surprise. "Albus, you wanted to see me?"

"Minerva, it would appear we have a rather unexpected arrival" Dumbledore sounded bemused. Hermione suddenly understood why Harry had sometimes been irritated with him. Dumbledore always seemed to take things lightly. "Miss Granger here had an accident with a Time Turner. That is, she had an accident with _your_ Time Turner, Minerva"

Minerva's eyes shot back at Hermione and she discovered the broken pendant around her neck. She sighed and sat down in the other vacant chair. "What are we going to do about it, Albus? We can't have a student from another time wandering around the castle..."

"Sir, could you please tell me what year this is?" Hermione asked softly "I know I have gone back in time but..." She glanced from Dumbledore to McGonagall. They both looked different; significantly different. This left her feeling that she had gone quite far back in time. "I'd like to know where I am"

"What year was the Time Turner given to you?" McGonagall asked, green eyes now piercing into Hermione's. Whatever strictness she had in her own time, it was not quite present now. "And may I add that I would never allow a student to wear my Time Turner unless he or she is extremely talented and I trust them to live up to the expectations of wearing such a powerful device"

Hermione blushed. There was a compliment hidden in there somewhere. "It was given to me in September 1999" She saw the worried look McGonagall shared with Dumbledore and she flared up. "What?"

Minerva swallowed. "Miss Granger, this is September 1969..."

* * *

She woke up in a comfortable bed. Sheets had been draped loosely over her body and now that her eyes slowly opened she realized her headache was gone. With a disgruntled moan she pushed herself up on her elbows only to find there were two people sitting at her bedside. Minerva McGonagall was checking what appeared to be essays. Dumbledore amused himself with something that looked an awful lot like the cards from Chocolate Frogs.

"Ah you're awake, Miss Granger" McGonagall looked up from her work and smiled. "You had us worried"

"Sorry" Hermione muttered. She touched the side of her face. The blood was gone and the cut had been healed. "I...I think I must have passed out"

"You suffered a mild concussion. Not unlikely since your head bounced off those concrete steps" Minerva continued and Hermione weakly smiled. "However, it is urgent we speak with you" She glanced at Dumbledore. "The effects of a Time Turner going back in time this far have never been document. In theory it should be impossible but this situation has proven otherwise. Even though my Time Turner in this time is still intact it is of no use to us as it is designed to go backwards in time, not forwards. We will have to find a different solution to return you to your own time, Miss Granger"

Hermione fell back into her pillows. Suddenly she felt awfully empty inside. Like something had just taken her heart and left a block of ice in its place. Angry tears burned behind her eyes. How could she have been so stupid?

"This has little to do with stupidity, Miss Granger" It was as if Dumbledore had read her mind. He glanced at Minerva. "However, until we have found a method of returning you to your own time, perhaps you should try and make yourself comfortable while you are here. We can place you in one of the Houses and tell students you are have only recently moved back to England. I noticed you were wearing Gryffindor robes... perhaps..."

"NO!" Hermione exclaimed loudly, causing McGonnagal to frown and she quickly explained herself. "Not Gryffindor...I... I am worried I will see too many faces of those I know in my own time. So many of them were sorted into Gryffindor at some stage. Though perhaps not quite this year but... I don't know if I can be around them..." She hesitated, doing the math in her head. "Arthur Weasley?"

Minerva smiled. "Ah yes, Arthur. However, he finished last year. As did his now wife Molly so you needn't fear of seeing them" There was curiosity flickering in her eyes. "It is inevitable we reach this moment..." She glanced at Dumbledore. "You know the Weasley's?"

Hermione sighed. Her mind was spinning. She could change everything. In a few years time Harry's parents would come to Hogwarts. And she now had the knowledge that would save them. "I know so much. So many things that could undo the horror that is still to come. But where do I stand? Where do I decide what is right to share and where do I let history take its own fate?"

Dumbledore looked at Hermione for a moment or two. "There will be a time when you realize what information does good and what does not, Miss Granger. For now I suggest you rest. I shall see to it you will be placed in..." He paused, arching an eyebrow in question.

Hermione shot an apologetic look towards McGonagall. She couldn't face being in Gryffindor. Her voice was hollow and empty. She spoke only to betray herself. "Slytherin"

"Slytherin" Dumbledore repeated and noticed how McGonagall seemed less than willing to accept that a Gryffindor student had chosen Slytherin. But nonetheless McGonagall put a hand on Hermione's arm before exiting the Hospital Wing, leaving Dumbledore and Hermione alone "I will make sure one of the students sees to it you will be accurately accommodated within your new house. I will ask one of the Prefects to come see you"

Hermione nodded. She was tired. She lay back against her pillows and watched how Dumbledore started back towards the door. He was about half way when he turned around. His blue eyes twinkled behind his glasses, just like Hermione remembered. "Oh Miss Granger, just as a point of curiosity – and you don't have to mention this to Professor McGonagall- what exactly does happen to me in your time line?"

Hermione swallowed and she knew Dumbledore was genuinely asking her the question. She knew he desired the truth. Her voice was hollow when she spoke. "You die, sir"

Dumbledore appeared to shrug. His eyes still twinkled and a tiny smile lingered on his lips. He never ceased to amaze her. He stood there in his dark blue robe and pointed hat riddled with silver stars. He made a casual hand gesture, leaving Hermione rather stunned. "Ah just another inevitable fact of life, Miss Granger. We all die..."


	2. A Search For Nowhere

_All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us_  
_~J.R.R Tolkien~_

* * *

Hermione had managed to convince Madam Pomfrey, who looked a lot younger than Hermione remembered her, that she felt perfectly fine and was quite capable of walking across the Hospital Wing without needing someone to hold her hand. She had gotten dressed in the school robes provided to her by Dumbledore and felt strangely uncomfortable in the silver and green colourings of Slytherin. Several times when she caught her own reflection in one of the mirrors she had to stop and look at herself. She felt lonely and empty inside. Apart from some of her teachers, she knew nobody here. It was like starting over. Starting over in a time she did not belong in.

The door to the Hospital Wing opened and Hermione curiously turned around. A girl walked in, dressed in Slytherin robes and a prefect badge pinned on her chest. She had thick, brown curls and almond shaped brown eyes. Something about her struck Hermione immediately and an uncomfortable feeling crept into her chest. Her brain was rapidly adding pieces of the puzzle together. She had worked out 1969 was Bellatrix Black's final year. And seeing this girl she knew she was not wrong, though she appeared to be a fifth year. She knew that strong jaw line and she recognized the cheekbones. But most of all she recognized the familiar trait of the Black family beauty. Her eyes narrowed. This girl was too young to be Bellatrix. And her hair was not as dark. And this was most definitely not Narcissa, who was as fair as the others were dark. Hermione gasped silently. This was the only Black sister she had never met. This girl who would one day become the mother of her friend Nymphadora. She had watched Nymphadora die in battle.

"Hermione Granger?" Andromeda Black asked, a smile breaking through on her face. Now that she smiled she looked even less like Bellatrix. "The Head Master asked me to come and see you. He said you were new. Is there anything I can do to help you with? I brought your time table" She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and gave it to Hermione.

"Th-Thanks" Hermione stuttered, still overwhelmed by the emotions she felt inside. She tried not to think of the Andromeda she knew, still mourning the loss of her daughter and son in law. She glanced down. Looking at Andromeda in front of her was like staring back in time. The time table didn't look too bad. In theory she should be having Potions now. History of Magic was next. It was the final class of that day.

"Is something wrong?" Andromeda questioned curiously. She had noticed Hermione's rather odd reaction towards her. She had expected her to have more questions, to be curious. But this new girl was quiet. And she didn't quite understand how she had managed to end up in the Hospital Wing already.

"No... Nothing's wrong. You err... you just remind me of someone I knew" Hermione looked back up from her time table. She smiled and shot a glance at Madam Pomfrey in her office. "Say, I am about to kill Madam Pomfrey and I am dying for some fresh air...Any chance you can get me outside?"

Andromeda smiled too. It did not happen often that as a prefect she got to skip the remaining half of her class. "Sure. I'll take this chance to show you around"

She tried not to look at the faces of the other students as they walked through the castle. She was too afraid she would recognize some of them. Seeing Andromeda was hard enough. Being confronted with the faces of the dead was something she would try to avoid. The castle did not look that different than it did in her time. There were a few less paintings. Some of the suits of armour were less dented, which Hermione blamed on Peeves throwing stuff at people. Hermione followed Andromeda until they finally made it out of the castle. Hermione's lungs eagerly took in the fresh air. The sterile smell of the Hospital Wing had made her feel sick. A weak sun was peering from behind thick clouds. The grounds were wet. It had rained overnight.

"You'll find that Hogwarts holds many secrets, Hermione" Andromeda said and turned around. Hermione nodded and smiled. She doubted Andromeda knew half the stuff she did. She knew every secret passage way, every secret tunnel and every hidden room. Six years with Harry Potter had taught her more than many others knew. "The stairs like to move so sometimes you find yourself ending up completely on the wrong side of the castle. And teachers will not accept that as an excuse when you're late for class!"

"Andy!" A voice called from behind them and Andromeda spun around. From the castle two figures appeared, both dressed in the familiar Slytherin robes. As they came closer Hermione recognized them. One was a darker version of Andromeda, a year or two older. It was Bellatrix. Raven black curls fell down the witch's shoulders. They were a sharp contrast with the porcelain tones of her skin. Her eyes were as dark as the night. The second girl was younger, with golden blond hair and intense blue eyes. She looked out of place beside her two dark haired sisters. Nonetheless she had something in common. Narcissa was stunningly beautiful. Bellatrix was a seventh year and Hermione guessed Narcissa Black had to be a third year.

"Oh hi Bella, Cissy" Andromeda said when her two sisters reached her. Almost instantly Bellatrix's dark eyes swept across to Hermione, intensely searching her face. She seemed to smile in approval when she realized she was wearing Slytherin robes. "Hermione, meet my sisters Bellatrix and Narcissa. Bella is in your year so perhaps she should show you around"

"I wasn't well behaved enough to be a prefect so they gave the badge to my little sister instead" Bellatrix smiled, causing Narcissa to glance up at her. "I think I set fire to poor Severus Snape too many times"

Somewhere in the castle a bell rung, echoing sharply across the grounds. Hermione recognized it instantly. It was the bell that announced that their next class would start in ten minutes. She glanced at Andromeda and then at Bellatrix. Standing here, surrounded by the three Black sisters, seemed as unreal as it could be. Here in front of her stood one of the most notorious Death Eaters, a woman who would marry one and the third would be disowned from her family because she married Muggle born. Looking at Bellatrix it was hard to imagine that a few years from now, Azkaban would rob her from her beauty. She was most definitely beautiful. Her eyes were not as far sunken back in her face and they had not yet lost their shine.

"Come on, we had better go to class" Bellatrix said and grasped Hermione's arm. She turned to her sisters. "See you at dinner time" Narcissa and Andromeda both went separate ways after saying goodbye to their sister. Narcissa had Herbology; Andromeda had to go to Care of Magical Creatures. Both of which were outside the castle. Hermione followed Bellatrix back into the castle. She felt disgusted somewhere. She had to rely on her... She had to rely on her to find her way in this new time. A whole new world. A world in which she did not belong.

They arrived outside the History of Magic classroom just before the start of class and they made their way inside. There wasn't a more boring subject than History of Magic but it was quite useful to have as a NEWT. Hermione's eyes quickly searched the classroom for an empty seat but the only one remaining was beside Bellatrix. She sat down, pulled her book out of her bag and opened it. She wondered if no one wanted to sit next to Bellatrix because of her reputation or because she did not tolerate others in her personal space.

Professor Binns, the only teacher who was technically a ghost, started his usual reciting of important events in the wizarding world and Hermione noticed that when she looked around, the expressions of her fellow students were identical to those she remembered of her friends. Ultimate boredom.

She could feel Bellatrix lean in and turned to look at her. The eldest Black daughter looked slightly bemused. "Perhaps I ought to have warned you. This class is extremely dull. If ever you need an extra hour of sleep or so, I recommend you do it here" She pointed in the direction of Wilkes, who was already hanging over his book and who was obviously fast asleep. Hermione grinned but failed to come up with a quick witted reply.

"So, where are you from?" Bellatrix inquired. Clearly the lesson did not interest her at all. She had turned her back to her teacher and was now fully focused on Hermione. It did not appear as if Professor Binns even noticed no one was paying attention. Another thing that did not change in thirty years. "I don't think I have heard the name Granger before. You are Pure Blood, right?"

Hermione flinched. Even now the manic obsession with being pure of blood was evident in Bellatrix's behaviour. She remembered what Dumbledore had instructed to tell her when he had come back to see her earlier this morning. She straightened her spine. "Yes. Of course I am. Pure blood all the way. And we have been so for several generations. The blood line remains untainted. My family originates from Australia. Perhaps that is why you have not heard of them before"

Bellatrix nodded, her eyes darkening rapidly as she spoke. She licked her dark red lips. Intense black eyes caught Hermione's. There was something hauntingly beautiful about her. "Well, you must be pure blood. They would never let a filthy Mudblood or half blood in Slytherin"

Hermione ignored the rumbling in the pit of her stomach. Anger was a wasted emotion in this situation. It would not get her anywhere. She regretted having chosen Slytherin over Gryffindor but she was least likely to be confronted by those she had once cared for. She nodded and found her strength to speak. A voice that sounded nothing like her own spoke "Better be rid of them"

Bellatrix eagerly leant in after those words. "My thought exactly, Granger" She glanced past Hermione in the direction of Lucius Malfoy. Hermione had seen him when she walked in. Seeing young Lucius made her realize how much Draco truly looked like his father. She saw nothing of Narcissa in him. And having seen how innocent she looked it was hard to imagine she married a prat like Malfoy. "Perhaps you and I ought to talk one of these nights, Granger. I can assure you, there are many among us who agree with you"

Hermione nodded, her eyes not letting go of Bellatrix's. She still looked so much like a girl. So little like the deranged and demented witch she had encountered several times in her life. There was still a sparkle in her eyes. A sparkle that had returned just in that one split second before she died. The thought brought back the image of Bellatrix Lestrange, tumbling down to the floor. It was impossible to imagine that this raven haired young woman would one day become the most notorious Death Eater of all.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity of History of Magic, Hermione joined Bellatrix as they made their way down to the Great Hall. She sat down next to her at the Slytherin house table and answered some questions of her fellow students. All seemed pretty happy to accept her explanation as to why she had only just arrived. After about fifteen minutes the conversations died and Hermione focused on her food. When she looked back up from her sheppard's pie she found Minerva McGonagall looking back at her. There was something questioning in her teacher's eyes and Hermione wondered whether McGonagall tried to picture her as a Gryffindor.

After dinner Hermione was asked by Bellatrix to go for a walk. They left the Great Hall and left the castle through the main entrance. Ten minutes later they were strolling around the Black Lake. Eventually, Bellatrix sat down on one of the large rocks and Hermione followed. Darkness had fallen and the first stars appeared in the ink black sky. It was full moon tonight and the beautiful white orb reflected of the water. Hermione glanced at Bellatrix. She looked even paler in the silver moonlight. Her hazel brown eyes searched for Bellatrix's black orbs. She tried not to sound too curious and eager. "What did you mean exactly when you said there are others who agree with us?"

"There are those who believe Muggle borns and Half Bloods are equal to us" Bellatrix's voice dripped with contempt. Dark eyes flickered dangerously. "However, they are not nor will they ever be. And there are some who would do anything to purify the world of such filth. There is one, who will erase them all when he gains his power. The Dark Lord shall erase those filthy Mudbloods, Bloodtraitors and other unworthy filth"

They sat in silence for awhile. In the distance a bird began to sing a midnight song. The mention of Lord Voldermort frightened Hermione. She knew his rise was imminent. Within the next few years he would reach his full strength and the first wizarding war would be upon them. From the corner of her eye, Hermione looked at Bellatrix. As devoted as she was to the dark side, she still looked so young and somewhat fragile. Somehow Bellatrix reminded her of herself. She had seen her reading during meal times, much like herself. She was one of the few students who had subscripted to the Daily Prophet.

"Have your parents found a suitable husband for you yet?" Bellatrix casually asked though Hermione detected a hint of resistance in her voice. Dark eyes glanced at Hermione.

Hermione bit her lip, unsure what to answer. She had only known Bellatrix for a few hours. But somehow she felt like it had been days. The eldest Black daughter was a mystery. She had an aura of darkness and mystery around her and yet there was still something delicate about her. There was an odd connection, something she could not explain. Something she did not understand. It had replaced the fear she felt for being trapped in this time. It had even erased some of the loathing for the Slytherin robes.

"No" Hermione simply answered. There was a dull feeling in her chest. "Have yours..."

"As soon as I finish Hogwarts" Bellatrix answered sharply, cutting off the rest of Hermione's question "They made the arrangements over the summer. I will marry Rodolphus Lestrange"

Hermione remained silent. She knew arranged marriages were not uncommon in the wizarding community, especially amongst those of pure blood. She had always known Bellatrix's sister Narcissa married Lucius Malfoy because it was what was expected. She should have realized Bellatrix's marriage was perhaps even less loving than Narcissa's.

She didn't know how long they had sat like this but eventually Bellatrix stood up. Without speaking another word she walked back to the castle, leaving Hermione to her own thoughts. It was clear she was no longer looking for company. Her body posture was rigid though she seemed to dance through the shadows of the night as she walked across the grounds back to the castle. Hermione watched her and saw how occasionally Bellatrix's skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. Minutes later she had disappeared. Hermione was quite happy to be alone and watched the moonlight and the stars glisten on the water. It was such a peaceful night and she wondered to herself why she had not done this before. She would always sit in the library when she looked for quiet moments. She promised herself that, if she ever found her way back, she would sit beside the Lake like she did tonight and watch the moonlight.

* * *

After a few days it almost seemed normal to mingle with Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa and join in their classes. During some moment she would almost forget this was not her own time. She had spent a lot of time with the three Black sisters, but especially with Bellatrix as they were in the same year. The after dinner walks had become something they did every night. They would walk up to the Lake and sit by the water as the moonlight cast silver beams of light through the trees. And at first, they had been quiet for most of the time but after two or three nights they had begun to talk. Bellatrix had told Hermione everything there was to know about her mysterious Dark Lord, her obvious dislike of her soon to be husband and her disapproval of Lucius Malfoy, who was to marry Narcissa in a few years. She had told Hermione what it would take to join and how she could not wait for the day she said goodbye to the corridors of Hogwarts.

It was her second week in her new timeline and she and Bellatrix were sitting by the Lake as usual. Bellatrix was lying on her back and pointed out all the constellations in the black sky. Hermione watched and listened. The sound of grass snapping under boots made her sit up and she watched how from the shadows Professor McGonagall appeared.

"Ah Miss Granger" she said when she discovered Hermione lying in the grass. Bellatrix sat up too. Dark eyes blazed at the sight of the Gryffindor Head of House but McGonagall was not impressed. "Miss Black"

"Professor McGonagall" Bellatrix answered through clenched teeth. The mutual dislike between the two witches was obvious. Bellatrix had told Hermione how she believed Minerva McGonagall, a pure blood herself, to be a traitor because she supported Mudbloods and Half Bloods. Though at the same time, Bellatrix excelled in her Transfiguration classes. Her loathing for her teacher did not obstruct her eagerness to perform.

"Miss Granger, I was wondering whether I could perhaps have a word. The Head Master has received a letter from your parents that he wishes to discuss" Professor McGonagall said, green eyes resting on Hermione. If she was worried about Hermione's growing friendship with Bellatrix Black, she did not show it. Then again, she did not know what Bellatrix would become.

"Of course" Hermione answered, suspecting that McGonagall meant they had somehow managed to contact her own timeline and she stood up. She glanced at Bellatrix. "I'll see you in the common room, Bella"

"She must highly approve of you, Miss Granger. Bellatrix Black does not strike up friendship with anyone and she never allows anyone in her personal space" McGonagall said when they were out of hearing range and Hermione glanced at her. How much did she really know about Bellatrix Black? She didn't answer and followed her teacher into the castle. They made their way to the Head Master's office. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, the tips of his fingers pressed together.

"I found her at the Lake, Albus. In the presence of Miss Black, just like you guessed" McGonagall smirked and gestured for Hermione to sit down in one the chairs.

"I dare say you have adapted well, Miss Granger. Many others would find it hard to conform to a different timeline but you have done remarkably well. I would guess you actually know many of your Slytherin classmates too, albeit in a different form?" Dumbledore cocked an eyebrow behind his glasses.

Hermione nodded. She felt reassured her answer would not change the timeline. "Yes sir. Severus Snape will one day become your Potions teacher" She left out his dealings with the Death Eaters and Lord Voldermort. Nor did she mention he was dead in her time. "Lucius Malfoy will marry Narcissa Black and they will have a son, Draco. He started Hogwarts the same year I did..." She briefly smiled. "Andromeda Black will be disowned because she marries a Muggle born. They have a daughter who becomes a highly skilled Auror"

"What about Bellatrix Black?" McGonagall curiously asked "I heard she is to marry the eldest Lestrange heir after her final year"

Hermione bit her lip. "She does. But..." She hesitated. Speaking the words out loud reminded her once again how rare spending time with Bellatrix really was. She had come to see a whole different side of the deranged Death Eater. A teenager still, who questioned herself and who was desperate to belong and be part of something. "She's dead in my timeline"

"There appear to be an awful lot of deaths in your time, Miss Granger" Dumbledore concluded, his blue eyes connecting with McGonagall's for a moment. "It sounds as if there are dark times ahead"

Hermione averted her eyes. Tears burned behind her eyes. "There are, sir. But telling you would only affect the outcome. And like you said, I will know when I can or cannot provide you with information without altering the timeline..." She looked up. "Why did you wish to see me, sir?"

"We have managed to establish contact with your own timeline, Miss Granger" Dumbledore said and his blue eyes glistened behind his glasses. He pointed at a small diary lying on his desk. "With the help from a very talented friend of mine, we have managed to establish a link between two different diaries. When you write in one, the message will appear in the other and vice versa. It is not a transportation portal but the link has been made so now both sides can communicate. Call it a paradox if you wish but it works..."

Hermione sat up in her chair. Hope had sparked inside her. There was maybe a chance she would not have to stay much longer. At least she could be in touch with home. Her eyes were transfixed on the diary. "Who owns the diary on the other side, sir?"

McGonagall smiled and she placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. The touch was comforting and made Hermione sit back in her chair. "I do... Or better, the future me does"

"And since thirty years has passed since now and then, there is a chance they will be able to create a method for you to travel back with the help of the Time Turner that remains on this side. Alterations will have to be made but the Ministry today knows very little about that. However, in your own time the concept of time travel has been researched far more and may provide the answer" said Dumbledore and he then passed the diary to Hermione. She opened it only to find a blank page. She sighed and then clutched the book tightly against her chest.

"Thank you, sir" she whispered as tears began to sting behind her eyes. She glanced up at McGonagall, who was still standing at her side. "And you too, Professor"

They nodded and Hermione took this as a sign to leave. She stood up and walked to the door. With the door handle in her hand she turned around. Dumbledore still sat behind his desk, just like she remembered him. It was painful to realize that she held the power to overturn it all. She could let him live. She had the power of letting Harry grow up with his parents. She even held the power to stop Voldermort before he would destroy the world they all knew. But she could not answer to herself whether she should.

Clutching the diary she walked down the stairs and made her way to the Slytherin common room. Bellatrix was sitting by the fire but looked up when Hermione walked in. She narrowed her eyes at the sight of the diary. "What is that?"

Hermione fell down in one of the green leather arm chairs and put her feet up. "Just something my parents gave me. It's nothing"


	3. Change Of Heart

I am ignoring the real reason the Shrieking Shack was built.

* * *

It was late and the dormitory was silent. From one of the other beds came some soft snoring, a sound Hermione had grown used to over the last few weeks. She was hiding under the covers by the weak light from the tip of her wand. In front of her lay the journal given to her by Dumbledore. She had to wait till Bellatrix was asleep before she could write anything. Intense dark eyes watched her every move. It was something else she had gotten used to. Bellatrix's eyes were everywhere, silently following her. And she had realized her eyes had done the same. They lingered just that little bit longer on the dark haired witch and her mind, and her heart, had long forgotten what she was to become. Her ears pricked up when one of the beds creaked. It came from beside her. Bellatrix had rolled over in her sleep. Satisfied her friend was still asleep she dipped her quill in the ink pot and hesitated for a moment or two before she begun to write.

"_Professor, I am glad to have found a way to let you know I am doing fine. Perhaps a bit shaken but fine. I am not sure if Professor Dumbledore told you where I am, but this is 1969. The accident with the Time Turner has sent me thirty years back in time. I cannot believe I have been this foolish. Something so small caused such an impact. I am doing all right. I have started taking my classes and I am making the most out of it while I am here. So far I have avoided running into anybody I know from the Order or anywhere else. It is terrifying to see such familiar faces sitting at the tables. Not to mention talking to Professor Dumbledore whilst I know he is dead. He and Professor McGonagall – you- are taking good care of me and I know everybody is working hard to find a way to get me home. Please let everyone know I am doing all right and there is no need to worry. I am thinking of all of you. Hermione"_

It was late and after a few minutes, when an answer had not appeared, Hermione closed the diary and safely pushed it under her pillow. The Professor McGonagall on the other side obviously was asleep. She put away her ink pot and her wand and then lay down. She stared at the ceiling for several moments, as she thought about the diary under her head. It was her portal to home. A way to know how they were doing and for them to know she was fine. Her eyes felt heavy. She had been forced to stay awake until everybody slept and now her tired body gave in. Her eyes fluttered shut and, for the first time since her accident, she dreamt of being a Gryffindor Student and laughing with Ginny in the common room.

* * *

The next morning Hermione couldn't reach for the diary under her pillow because Bellatrix had unexpectedly appeared at the side of her bed. From under messy, curly hair a set of dark eyes caught Hermione's. She couldn't deny Bellatrix looked amazingly beautiful even though she had not combed her hair and was wearing her pyjamas. The sudden realization of Bellatrix's beauty slightly scared Hermione and, eventually, she averted her eyes. The image of a young Bellatrix Lestrange with her wild hair bore little resemblance to the deranged witch she knew in her own time. There could not be a more different picture.

"It is Hogsmeade today" Bellatrix smiled and seemed to be wiggling from one foot onto the other. Around them some of the others girls were waking up and one of them magically opened the curtains in the dormitory. Weak sunlight fell into the room, reflecting of Bellatrix's raven black curls. She looked pale in this light but Hermione could see the slight blushes appear on her cheeks. She remembered the trip to Hogsmeade. The notification had only appeared on the message board in the common room three nights ago, causing a stir of excitement amongst the students. However, Bellatrix had said she wasn't going. Though now it appeared she had changed her mind.

Bellatrix leant against one of the bedposts of Hermione's bed, her slim fingers trailing the shape of the wood. She arched a finely shaped eyebrow. "Are you going?"

Hermione hesitated. There was a hidden invite hiding in Bellatrix's comment. She had spent enough time around the girls in the girl's dormitory in Gryffindor to read between the lines. And she knew herself well enough to know she would ask a similar question. She ran her fingers through her bushy brown curls. "Maybe"

Bellatrix cocked her head. Her curls danced around her face. The pink blushes on her cheeks only darkened when she spoke again. She blinked a few times and then suddenly averted her eyes. "I am meeting Cissy and Andy in Zonko's but we could go to the Three Broomsticks if you want?"

The Three Broomsticks, Hermione thought. That pub already existed – even in this timeline. Though it was most likely not owned by Madam Rosmerta. She wondered what it would look like. She suspected the Hog's Head was around, owned by Dumbledore's brother Aberforth. Though, if it had the same questionable reputation now like it would in the future, she doubted students went anywhere near it. Hermione looked at Bellatrix. There was anticipation glistening in her dark eyes. And she smiled. "Sure. I'd love to"

Bellatrix nodded and then turned around. She gathered her things and disappeared to the girl's bathroom. The other remaining girls quickly followed and silence fell over the dormitory. Reassured that Bellatrix and the other girls were gone, Hermione's hand slipped under her pillow and she withdrew the diary. A strange, almost nervous feeling overwhelmed her as she opened it. Her heart leapt up in her chest when she recognised Minerva McGonagall's neat handwriting.

_Hermione, you have no idea how worried we were. We realised the Time Turner got damaged in your fall but we didn't know how badly damaged it was. We tried to track you but found nothing. Then, one morning, I found an old diary on my desk. It had once belonged to Professor Dumbledore. Clearly this same diary exists in your time and he must have realized it created a chance for us to communicate.  
1969. I remember that year and I feel your anxiety over seeing those who passed. That included Professor Dumbledore. I admire your courage and strength. However, though many we know have not yet started Hogwarts in 1969 it is the year of the Black sisters. It is Bellatrix's final year, if I remember correctly. Her sister Andromeda should be a fifth year, Narcissa a third year. Surely you must have seen them. Stay away from Bellatrix and her sisters, Hermione. She was dangerous, even then. Whatever you do... stay away from Bellatrix Black..._

Hermione's hand almost automatically reached for the quill on her bedside table but the door to the dormitory opened and Narcissa's head appeared. Blue eyes swept across the almost completely empty room and when she found Hermione she smiled. "Hermione, have you seen Bella?"

Hermione clutched the journal tightly in her hand, making sure Narcissa could not see it. She heard McGonagall's face in her head. _Stay away from the Black sisters. _She looked up and her lips curled up. "She is in the shower, Narcissa. I shall tell her you are looking for her" She slipped out of bed and Narcissa nodded before closing the door. Hermione hid the diary under her bed and went on to find some clothes before she too headed to the girl's bathroom.

* * *

By the time Hermione had showered and got dressed, she was the last to leave the dormitory. She suppressed the desire to pick the diary up again and made her way into the common room. Apart from a few first years it was empty and Hermione hurried to the Great Hall. When she walked in she found the Slytherin table practically full with students and she quickly searched the faces for Bellatrix's familiar dark eyes. She found her sitting a little bit away from Narcissa and Hermione sat down beside her. There was a sense of excitement amongst the students and Hermione overheard some of them discuss what they would do once they were no longer under the ever watchful eye of teachers. She smirked to herself as she buttered her toast. Some things never changed.

It was half way through October and the weather had significantly changed outside. Rainclouds had begun to obscure the sun. The realization what time of year it was hit her completely unexpected and she almost knocked over her goblet of pumpkin juice. Half way through October... She had been here for several weeks now, living a life that had never meant be hers. And she only now realized how little she really thought about her own time. Occasionally, just before she fell into the slumber of sleep, would she suddenly think of Ron or Harry. With a painful expression she tried to imagine Ginny's fiery red hair between the Gryffindors but her friend's face rapidly faded into a blur.

Narcissa suddenly leant in, obviously trying to reach Bellatrix but Hermione noticed there was very little response coming from the girl beside her. Narcissa was happily chatting away about her plans before meeting Bellatrix and Andromeda in Zonko's. Hermione realized there was no sign of Andy. Her eyes swept across the Great Hall but the middle sister was nowhere to be seen. She glanced at Bellatrix from the corner of her eye. She had bound her hair back in a neat pony tail and it hung down her back. She clutched her pumpkin juice and seemed to be staring into it.

After about fifteen minutes, Bellatrix's hand unexpectedly caught Hermione's under the table and Hermione looked up at the sudden touch. Dark eyes met hers and Bellatrix stood up. Her hand slipped from Hermione's, leaving it suddenly cold. Reading the signs, Hermione followed and she realized how Bellatrix skilfully managed for Narcissa not to notice they were leaving. She could hear her mutter "She really needs friends of her own" under her breath.

They walked out of the Great Hall, through the main entrance and outside into the fresh autumn air. Rainclouds had packed together in the sky and it looked like they were in for another rainy day. It would not be long before the rain would be replaced by snow, leaving the grounds in a mysterious shade of untouched white. Hermione wrapped her Slytherin scarf a bit tighter around her neck and the lower half of her face. She had grown rather fond to the silver and green. At first she had felt the obvious loathing but, like everything else, it had become part of her.

She walked alongside Bellatrix. The sound of their boots echoed of the road leading from the castle into Hogsmeade. The windy road led through a part of the woods and Hermione could see fragile drops of rain glisten on a few remains leaves. Voices from excited students could be heard all the way along the road. There were a few teachers about and Hermione suspected they too would be heading out to the Three Broomsticks. She glanced beside her. Bellatrix was walking briskly, with her scarf wrapped around her neck and her hands firmly pushed in the pockets of her robes. The autumn wind pulled her hair, making it look like her curls danced to a tune no one could hear.

"Come on, I want to show you something" Bellatrix unexpectedly said and diverted from the main road into Hogsmeade. Hermione knew this turn well enough to immediately realize where the diversion would lead to. After a few minutes the Shrieking Shack appeared just over the hill. It looked as unloved and daunting as it did in her own time. The roof had not yet partially collapsed but most of the windows were broken.

"That is what most students would call the Shrieking Shack" said Bellatrix as dark eyes looked up to capture Hermione's. She searched for a reaction. Maybe a hint of fear. She found none. "It is supposedly the most haunted building in Britain. Very strange things apparently happen in there"

Hermione nodded. She knew the Shack had been used to support Remus Lupin whilst he was in school so he could transform into a werewolf. Also, Sirius had dragged Ron inside in an attempt to get to Peter Pettigrew. Voldermort and his Death Eaters even used it as a hideout, which seemed all the more remarkable since all of the dark wizards and witches were used to luxury and comfort. And, in the final end, it was where Severus Snape had died. But she said nothing to Bellatrix. She just stared at the haunting building and believed what people said. It truly was haunted. But not by ghosts but by memories.

Hermione cocked an eyebrow and chuckled. "Stranger things than at Hogwarts?"

Bellatrix smirked, her eyes still resting on Hermione's. "Much stranger"

Unexpectedly her hand slipped into Hermione's, much like she had done earlier that morning in the Great Hall. Hermione's heart suddenly pounded against her chest and nervously she glanced at Bellatrix. The dark witch's fingers brushed against the palm of Hermione's hand. It was warm and tender and it made Hermione's hand glow. The autumn wind grew stronger and pulled their hair and for several moments it was just them and the haunted building behind them.

Feeling Bellatrix's hand into her own felt as if somebody had suddenly put a missing piece back in place. Hermione realized she had never before felt what it was like to have someone hold her like this. It felt nothing like when Ron had taken her hand. Bellatrix's skin was tender and soft. The dark witch's fingers were still drawing figures against the palm of her hand. Hermione didn't want her to let go. She wanted to rest her head on the other witch's shoulders and feel what it would be like to run her fingers through those raven black curls.

Suddenly the voices of a few curious Hufflepuffs disturbed the moment between them and Bellatrix's hand slipped out of Hermione's. She only just managed to smother a moan of protest and hazel eyes caught dark brown. Bellatrix turned away from the approaching Hufflepuff's and Hermione followed. Neither of them spoke on the way down to Hogsmeade. Their silence however said more than words could ever describe.

They entered the Three Broomsticks ten minutes later and they ordered their drinks at the bar. It was crowded inside, mostly with students. It was an ocean of colours: Gryffindor's gold and red mixed with the green and silver from Slytherin, yellow and black from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw's blue and bronze. Whatever regulars there had been before the arrival of students, they had disappeared. There were only students occupying the various tables. Bellatrix and Hermione found a seat in the corner, away from most of the others. The silence that had lingered between them as they walked up lingered on. Both witches stared intently into their Butterbeers and occasionally allowed their eyes to sweep around the pub.

Hermione remembered what it had felt like to feel Bellatrix's hand into her own. Who would ever have believed it would feel so tender to hold another person's hand? She tried to ignore the Scottish accent of McGonagall as her voice echoed through her head. _Stay away from Bellatrix Black. _Hermione's eyes snapped up. Bellatrix was staring into her Butterbeer. Her raven curls still neatly bound back in her ponytail though a few persisting ones had managed to wiggle free and were falling down her sides of her face. They were a sharp contrast to the ivory tones of her skin. Underneath her robes a beautifully sculptured body was hiding. A body Hermione had seen when Bellatrix got changed at night and she had forced herself to look away. She feared getting caught as she stared at the beautiful raven haired witch. Bellatrix Black had slowly captured her heart.

Hermione suddenly looked up when a loud roar of laughter erupted from one of the neighbouring tables and she only now realized it was occupied by Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Wilkes and Avery. To her horror the Lestrange brothers walked in, the reason of the outburst. She tried to forget the thought that each and every one of the young men at that table would become Death Eaters in the future. The thought was frightening as she looked at their youthful faces. Snape looked almost terrified in his present company, a look that only intensified with the arrival of Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange.

Bellatrix groaned at the arrival of the two brothers. One of them would become her husband once she left Hogwarts. Hermione observed her reaction. Bellatrix's eyes darkened at the sight of Rodolphus and she could only describe the dark glare as pure hatred. Suddenly they both were painfully reminded of Bellatrix's oncoming marriage.

Fearing that a natural outburst of magic was inevitable, Hermione leant over the table towards Bellatrix and whispered "Perhaps we ought to leave"

They left the pub without finishing their drink. They wandered around Hogsmeade without saying much. They occasionally peered through a window, their bodies so close together their hands almost touched. Hermione could feel the warmth of Bellatrix's body. Neither of them said much, apart from the occasional appreciative word of items they say displayed in the shop window. Without fully realizing they reached the outskirts of the village. They were surrounded by trees and Bellatrix sat down on one of the large rocks. Hermione followed and she too sat down on the cold stone. Bellatrix didn't look at Hermione. Unexpectedly, Bellatrix's hand searched and found Hermione's and she took it. Hermione looked at her. The feeling was just perfect.

"I feel different when I am with you" Bellatrix whispered without looking at Hermione. Once again her fingers drew figures in the palm of her hand. "It is forbidden and yet it feels so free"

"Forbidden?" Hermione questioned softly. Her heart was racing in her chest and it felt as if it was going to explode right out of her body. She covered Bellatrix's hand with her own. They seemed to fit together so perfectly.

"A pure blood family will never accept the affection from one woman for another" Bellatrix answered with a hollow voice. It sounded as if she was fighting back tears but when Hermione glanced at her she could see no tears glistening in her eyes. Her dark brown eyes darkened even more. "It will only bring shame upon the family name. It is next to marrying a Mudblood... Marrying another woman...It does not matter if she is of pure blood"

Hermione swallowed. Same sex marriages were not uncommon in the wizarding community. She had learned so herself when she researched one of her school essays. The contradiction between the wizarding world and the Muggle word in that respect were amazing. In the wizarding community a marriage between two women was generally not frowned upon, no matter in what timeline they were. Unless said witches and wizards were pure blood. Prejudice survived in every world. "Bella..."

"My heart will never belong to Rodolphus Lestrange" Bellatrix whispered and suddenly intense dark eyes caught Hermione's "I cannot give my heart to someone else... For my heart belongs to you"

Butterflies danced in the pit of Hermione's stomach. Bellatrix was beautiful with a few curls having freed themselves from her ponytail and her amazingly dark brown orbs. Her skin was the purest ivory she had ever seen and her lips were plump and dark pink. She was still memorizing Bellatrix's every beautiful trait as she slowly leant in and her lips found Bellatrix's. Dark pink lips feel soft and sweet against her own. Her heart cried in triumph and victory as fear and hesitation fell away.

Bellatrix's free hand slipped into Hermione's curls and she pulled the brunette deeper into the kiss. Hermione's arms carefully found their way around Bellatrix's waist and willingly moved herself closer to the other witch. She felt amazingly warm and soft under her hands. There were so many emotions running through her. Minutes felt like hours as their hands softly trailed the sides of the other witch's face. Hermione let one of Bellatrix's curls run through her finger.

And when they eventually broke away they looked at each other. There was slight confusion flashing through Bellatrix's eyes but it quickly faded and was replaced by intense happiness. For the first time, Hermione really saw Bellatrix smile. It was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. A memory she would cherish forever. Her own lips curled up into a smile as she rested her head on Bellatrix's shoulder. And silently she wished it would never end.

* * *

It had been five days since their trip to Hogsmeade. Five days since their first kiss. They had shared secret moments when no one had been watching. Every night when darkness fell they went for a walk around the lake and they would watch the stars and the moon, much like they had done before. They would talk and laugh or just lay down in silence. Tonight however, Bellatrix had been called away to meet with Slughorn over her Potions essay and Hermione found herself in the girls' dormitory alone.

From under her bed she took the diary. She had only written in it once since the first time she saw McGonagall's message but she had not yet seen her teacher's answer. She flicked the pages and recognised McGonagall's handwriting instantly. Reading the answer made her heart cringe in her chest. It appeared her teacher trusted her to do something she had failed to do. She had neglected to inform Minerva McGonagall that she had moved into Slytherin.

_Hermione, I am glad to hear you are making the best out of an almost impossible situation. Perhaps following your classes is the wisest decision at this moment. Believe me when I say we are still trying to find a way for you to come home. It is almost the end of October and the longer you are there, the bigger the risk you might be discovered or something else happens. I trust you to keep a low profile and hope you are coping well. I dare say I am not sure what I would do had this happened to me.  
I hope you have taken my advice and have refrained from communicating with the Black sisters. They are in Slytherin so I expect you have little to do with them unless it is in class. It will keep you safe. I trust you are well and hope that, soon, we will find a way to bring you home._

Hermione sighed. Tears burned behind her eyes. She slipped from the bed, hid the diary underneath and dropped down to the floor. From another hiding spot under her bed she pulled her Gryffindor scarf. She had been wearing it the morning she appeared here. This was the first time she looked at it. It felt almost strange holding it. It was the only thing that reminded her of home. Or whatever it was called. Tears of frustration fell from her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.

She was in love with Bellatrix. She felt something she had never felt for anyone else before. Whenever the other witch touched her hand she suddenly fell alive. But she knew it could never be. Everything around her was an illusion. A dream from which she had to wake whenever the time came. She would have to leave it all behind. She would return to a timeline where the young woman she had come to love was dead. A world in which she no longer existed. The thought of never being able to hold her hand again or see the little lights in her eyes ignite, broke her heart. Hermione pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs.

For the first time she hoped they would never find a way to bring her back.


	4. Twillight's Garden

_Hermione makes a drastic decision... What will the consequences be..._

* * *

Hermione rested her head on Bellatrix's chest. She could hear and feel her heart beat. Bellatrix's fingers entwined in Hermione's brown curls and tickled the back of her neck. Hermione's eyes fluttered shut as she felt Bellatrix's soft fingers against her skin. Her mind was spinning. She kept hearing McGonagall's voice in the back of her head, warning her to stay away from the woman in whose arms she was lying now. She tried calling up the faces of her friends but they constantly faded into a blur. At night, when everybody else was asleep, she would sit up with the diary and just stare at it. She didn't know what else to write. She knew she could never tell them the truth.

That same diary was now lying under her bed. The same bed she was lying on with Bellatrix. The bed in which only mere minutes ago they had made love. Bellatrix had hexed the door, leaving it both impossible to open and soundproof. All the other students had been in the common room. Everyone knew better than even attempt to enter the dormitory when Bellatrix had decided to seclude herself. Hermione's naked body was only partially covered by the sheets on her bed. Bellatrix's body felt warm and soft against her own. Small beads of sweat were still visible on the dark haired witch's forehead.

"I don't want this to ever end" Bellatrix whispered softly as her hand trailed down Hermione's arm. She placed a kiss somewhere in Hermione's hair .Hermione felt tears sting behind her eyes. Happiness battled sadness for domination. Her heart was full of love and yet it felt as if it was about to break. "I do not care if I have to betray my husband for the remainder of my life, Hermione. I don't want this to ever fade..."

Hermione was about to whisper something in return when the door to the dormitory opened. Bellatrix immediately sat up, wrapping one of the sheets around her naked body. Hermione instantly missed the warmth against her skin but her eyes were drawn to the door. Bellatrix had already grabbed her wand. Hermione suspected she would erase the mind of whoever saw them together. But the spell never fell from her lips. In the open door stood Andromeda, closely followed by Narcissa.

"Bella..." Andromeda never got any further than her sister's name. Brown eyes widened at the sight of her sister in Hermione's bed, with only a sheet covering her naked skin. Her mouth dropped and she almost instantly attempted to push Narcissa out of the room but the blonde sister came in anyway. Narcissa froze at the sight of her sister and her hand slowly covered her mouth.

"CISSY! ANDY!" Bellatrix shrieked in panic and with a flick of her wand the door slammed shut. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you not to come in here?"

Andromeda looked slightly taken aback by her sister's outburst. She glanced at Hermione. "I'm sorry Bella but Slughorn is looking for you. Something about your Potions essay. I don't know..." She hesitated and glanced at Narcissa, who was still too stunned to speak. Bellatrix nervously looked from one sister to the other, as if to determine who would betray her to her parents first. "Bella, I swear we won't tell anybody!" She harshly nudged Narcissa in her ribs.

"Nobody!" Narcissa squeaked as she rubbed her side and shot a dark glare at Andromeda.

Bellatrix's dark eyes shot from Andromeda to Narcissa and back. Her voice was cold and dripped with venom. Suddenly she spilled the secrets she knew her sisters had tried to keep from her. But she knew. She had always known. "If I even suspect one of you will speak to Mother and Father I will make sure your life will be hell from now on. Andromeda, I will tell Mother and Father you are secretly dating a Mudblood. Narcissa, I will them you have slept with that worthless Ravenclaw boy..."

Both sisters looked horrified and even Hermione felt slightly worried by Bellatrix's anger, regardless of how surprised she felt that Bellatrix had accepted her sister dating a Mudblood. She sat up and put a hand on her new lover's arm. She caught her dark eyes. "Bella, ssssh... Don't say things like that. I trust your sisters to keep our secret safe. After all, like you said, they have secrets of their own to keep. There is no need to threaten them like this"

"Bella, to us it does not matter. By now you should know that" Andromeda said. Her cheeks had turned a dark shade of red when Bellatrix betrayed her secret about dating Ted Tonks. She had no idea her sister knew. Narcissa looked horrified at the idea her sister knew about her one mistake. Andromeda glanced at Narcissa and Narcissa nodded. "You know how I feel about the traditions imposed on us by our parents. I think they are wrong"

Narcissa walked around the bed and slipped her arms around Bellatrix's neck. Hermione curiously observed the rare display of affection. She had always known the relationship between Bellatrix and Narcissa to be different to the one Bellatrix had with Andromeda. Seeing the two sisters share a hug made her wonder why their relationships were so different. When Narcissa let go of Bellatrix she turned to look at Hermione. Blue eyes searched her face.

"You know what will happen if this ever comes out" she said through clenched teeth. Hermione guessed her defensiveness was more because of her sister than the fact she disliked Hermione. "I will proudly keep your secret if you promise never to betray it. Regardless of what happens"

Hermione nodded. "Never would I dare betray our secret" She glanced at Bellatrix, who glanced back at her. "I love your sister"

Her answer seemed to have satisfied Narcissa because she turned away from Hermione and exited the dormitory. Andromeda remained behind, her light brown eyes resting on Bellatrix. The silence lasted for a few more seconds. "Bella..." Andromeda started and a tear trickled down her cheek. She had never expected her sister to know her secret "How long have you known..."

Bellatrix looked at Andromeda. The sharpness of her voice had faded and the friendly voice Hermione had gotten so returned. A little smile broke through on Bellatrix's face. "From the beginning. You are my sister, Andy. And you will always be my sister. Now go join Cissy. It is her I trust least. Please make sure she does not speak to Malfoy. Surely he would find it delightful to inform our parents"

Andromeda briefly nodded and she too turned to leave the dormitory. When the door closed, Bellatrix threw herself back on the bed. Angry tears suddenly seeped through her eyelashes and dripped onto the pillow. Hermione carefully wrapped an arm around her sobbing lover and let her fingers trail down Bellatrix's back.

"Don't cry my love" she whispered and planted a kiss on Bellatrix's shoulder blade. She felt the turmoil inside. Bellatrix cried over their secret being uncovered. What if she ever learned none of this had ever been real? That Hermione wasn't who she thought she was, that she did not even belong here? She thought about the diary under her bed. Everything felt so wrong and yet so right. If there had ever been a moment where she believed things had fallen into place, this was it. And at the same time everything was wrong. The shattered pieces of the Time Turner lay in the small bedside table. She had not touched them since she arrived here. She knew that somewhere in 1999 people were trying to get her home. But as she lay beside Bellatrix she didn't want to leave.

* * *

She managed to ignore her diary for another few days but eventually one night when Bellatrix was doing her homework in the common room she picked it back up. She too should be doing her homework+ but the pressure her heart put on her made her change her mind. She sat on her bed, with legs pulled up, the diary resting against her knees. There were several short messages from Minerva McGonagall. All were asking whether she was all right. Hermione's finger trailed the words on the yellowish paper. It was impossible to believe there was another life out there. Her own. The one she was meant to return to. She picked up her quill and began writing.

_Professor, I am sorry for not writing for several days. I think I am beginning to realize where I have ended up. The turmoil inside me is impossible to describe in words. I have tried to keep a low profile but somehow I have made friends. People I never knew and never will know. And I can't get over the fact that – if I return- I will never see them again. I try to focus on my classes, make the best out of it all. But with every passing day it becomes more difficult. It is November now. People have started talking about Christmas. I am afraid I will still be here by then. They will all go home and I will be left here. Perhaps that is for the best. Two weeks away from all those faces. How are things going back home? Could you please pass on a message to Ron and Harry and tell them they'd better buy me a Butterbeer in the Leaky Cauldron when I get home? I have to go now. My roommates are about to come up for bed and I don't want any of them finding this diary. Hermione. _

She stored the diary in her usual hiding place and slipped off her bed. She grabbed her Potions books and her half finished Transfigurations essay before going into the common room and joining Bellatrix by the fire so she could finish her homework. She caught Bellatrix's eyes when she sat down beside her and for a few moments they looked at each other. Hermione thought back to what she had just written. Now that she was seeing Bellatrix, being in this time had become even harder. She smiled when she felt Bellatrix's hand brush against her own.

* * *

November rapidly faded into December and apart from the occasional hopeful message from Professor McGonagall, there wasn't much that allowed her to focus on her previous life. Occasionally she thought of her friends and imagined Ginny putting up Christmas decorations in the Gryffindor common room. She wondered how Ron and Harry were getting on in their Auror training. Professor McGonagall revealed very little about what her friends were doing, probably out of fear someone might discover the diary and learn things they were not supposed to know. Hermione herself had still not mentioned she was in Slytherin or that she had befriended the Black sisters. Her relationship with Bellatrix bloomed over the month November and the onset of December but as the prospect of Christmas came closer, Hermione noticed Bellatrix became more and more withdrawn.

It was the day before most students would return home for Christmas and Hermione found Andromeda alone in the common room doing her History of Magic homework. Andromeda seemed thoroughly bored and gladly accepted the distraction in the form of Hermione. She put her homework down and smiled.

"Andy, can we talk?" Hermione's eyes swept across the common room to make sure no one was lurking in the corners somewhere. Satisfied there was no one around she took a deep breath. "I am worried about Bella. I mean, she barely talks to me anymore. All she seems to want is just lie in my arms in silence. And I love your sister but... she worries me"

Andromeda slowly nodded. She saw the worried look in Hermione's eyes. "I understand. See Hermione, Bella knows what will happen when she returns home. During the Christmas holidays our parents will continue with the arrangements for her marriage. And it will be a constant reminder to her that she is to marry Rodolphus Lestrange and she therefore can never truly be with you"

Hermione felt angry tears well up behind her eyes. She and Bellatrix had barely spoken about her oncoming marriage. By not speaking of it they could pretend it would not happen. Now the inevitable was about to take place. Her parents would continue with the arrangements. "I see" she whispered and fought against her tears. She glanced at Andromeda. She remembered Bellatrix's surprising reaction to her sister dating a Mudblood. What would happen for Bellatrix to hate her so? And there and then, her heart made a decision. She took a deep breath. "Do you know where she is?"

"Library I think" Andromeda answered and Hermione stood up. She left the common room and made her way through the castle towards the library. It was early evening and many of the tables were occupied by students doing their homework. Several swear words could be heard coming from a group of Ravenclaws who were doing their Herbology homework and Hermione grinned to herself. She found Bellatrix in one of the corners, sitting at a table on her own. She looked up when Hermione stepped in her line of vision and dark eyes instantly brightened.

"Hey" Bellatrix smiled "What are you doing here? I though you finished your home work"

Hermione nodded. Her heart ached in her chest and the knot in her stomach tightened. She dug her nails into the palm of her hand. The risk was worth taking. She had made herself believe it was. "I have. Bella, I need to talk to you. And it can't wait. Can we, please?"

Bellatrix frowned. She had picked up the desperate tone in Hermione's voice. She closed her books, pushed them in her bag and stood up. She followed Hermione out of the library. Once they were walking through the corridor and she was satisfied they were alone, her hand found Hermione's. The corridors of the castle were decorated with all sorts of Christmas decorations and some of the suits of armour appeared to be humming Christmas tunes. Mistletoe had appeared in the strangest places, like over classroom doors, which had caused some hilarious situations when Avery had been forced to kiss Professor McGonagall, much to her disapproval. Bellatrix unexpectedly turned Hermione towards her and kissed her. Hermione answered the kiss whilst her heart cried out in her chest. Her hazel eyes looked up and found another piece of mistletoe dangling over their heads.

"I will have this one magically follow us from now on" Bellatrix whispered when she broke away. She brushed a strand of brown hair behind Hermione's ear "At least then I have a good excuse to kiss you in the middle of a crowded corridor"

They had reached the courtyard and Bellatrix climbed on one of the walls. Hermione followed and watched how Bellatrix pulled up her legs, her feet pointing at Hermione. A playful grin lingered in her lips. Bellatrix looked beautiful in the orange gloom of the torches. "Now, what was it you want to talk to me about?"

"There is something you need to know" Hermione whispered, slowly averting her eyes. She couldn't look Bellatrix in the eye when she broke down her world. "Something about me"

Bellatrix cocked her head. Dark eyes nervously searched Hermione's face. "What are you talking about? I thought you had told me all your secrets" She hesitated and she swallowed her tears. "Are you... are you leaving me?"

"NO!" Hermione quickly answered and hazel eyes snapped up to meet Bellatrix's. She could see the tears glisten in her lover's eyes and she ached for making Bellatrix upset. She knew somewhere she was wrong for doing this. She shouldn't. She had no idea to what it would lead. What it would mean. But she had no choice. For there to ever be a truth, she had to erase the lie. "No. I am not leaving you. I merely... I need to tell you the truth about myself, Bella. There is something... many things... you do not know. And by Merlin, I have no clue where to start"

Bellatrix waited. Dark eyes rested on the girl sitting across her. She saw the painful expression in her lover's eyes and she wanted to reach out and touch her though she doubted Hermione would let her. It was dark and not even the moon managed to break through the thick snow clouds. The first tiny flakes began falling and there was no doubt that tomorrow they would wake up to a tender blanket of white snow covering the Hogwarts grounds.

"I am not a Slytherin" Hermione softly said and averted her eyes. It seemed the easiest way to start. "I was sorted into Gryffindor when I started Hogwarts" She hesitated and bit her lip, her eyes still not meeting Bellatrix's. "I do not belong here, Bella. In so many more ways than one. I was sorted into Gryffindor in 1991. I was given a Time Turner in my seventh year and... There was an accident whilst I was wearing it. The Time Turner broke and it sent the time spinning. When I woke up, I found myself here. In 1969... My name _is_ Hermione Granger. I am Muggle born. _A Mudblood_. I was born September 19th, 1979"

Bellatrix sat up as the words began to sink in. Dark eyes were riddled with confusion. She searched Hermione's face but did not find the other girl meeting her eyes. "So... so... you are not real?" Her voice had been reduced to a whisper. She reached out a hand, as if to touch Hermione.

"I am very real" Hermione answered softly and now finally she allowed herself to meet Bellatrix's eyes. The dark haired witch was staring at her. Her dark orbs were riddled with confusion, her hand still mere inches from Hermione's. "I am real, Bella... Only thirty years from now. I won't be born for another ten years. I am a seventh year Gryffindor student in 1999, which is the year I had the accident with the Time Turner. It sent me thirty years back in time..."

Bellatrix looked at Hermione. Realization slowly began to sank in. Dark eyes widened in fear and she slightly shook her head. "You should never have told me this" she whispered as she leant in. Hermione knew those words to be true but she couldn't lie any longer. Bellatrix deserved the truth. Bellatrix's hand desperatly clutched Hermione's and she quickly kissed her. The kiss left Hermione's lips feeling warm and longing for more. She never ever wanted it to end. "You risked altering the whole time line by telling me. Why did you?"

Hermione shook her head. Part of her knew she had acted irrational. She knew she had endangered everything. "I could not lie to you any longer, Bella. For whatever reason I ended up here... there must be a reason. And you must know... They are working on a way to help me return. It will not be long before they will have found one"

"Don't leave" Bellatrix whispered immediately, her eyes piercing into Hermione's. She sounded desperate and tears glistened in her dark eyes. She still held Hermione's hands, her fingers now stroking the back of her hand. "Please don't leave. You can stay here. You never have to tell anybody what happens in the future. Nobody will ever have to know who you really are. You can start over. With me. You can make a new future. Just don't leave"

"I have to" Hermione whispered, her hand slipping out of Bellatrix's and now cupping her lover's face. The mere thought of goodbye made her heart break in her chest "There is too much at stake, my love. You know I cannot tell you and I just hope you will understand"

Bellatrix nodded and leant in. Her lips brushed against Hermione's before she rested her forehead against that of Hermione. Now the truth lingered between them and both knew that one day separation would be unavoidable. And both hoped that that day would never come. Hermione's eyes fluttered shut as she heard Bellatrix's voice whisper "It does not matter, Hermione. We will find a way somehow"

* * *

The morning arrived that most students would return home for Christmas. Hermione had sadly watched Bellatrix pack her trunk and with a hollow feeling she had followed her to the castle's entrance. Narcissa and Andromeda had been waiting but both turned away when Hermione wrapped her arms around Bellatrix's neck and pulled her close. Saying goodbye to her for two weeks, without knowing whether she would see her return, ripped her heart to shreds. The night before Bellatrix had taken her for a walk around the lake and had magically conjured up a blanket and a fire. They had made love in the snow, under the stars, and then lay in each other's arms for hours as the snowflakes had once again begun to fall. They had said their goodbyes then but now Hermione could not let her go.

When Bellatrix eventually moved out of Hermione's arms there were clear tracks of tears visible on her cheeks. Hermione brushed them away with her thumb and tried to smile. Tears trickled down her own cheeks. "I'll miss you"

Bellatrix nodded. "And I'll miss you. I just hope you will still be here when I return"

She slowly turned away and joined her sisters. The three of them slowly walked away. Hermione watched how Andromeda and Narcissa walked along side Bellatrix though neither ever looked back. From Bellatrix's hanging shoulders Hermione could tell she was crying. Hermione watched them walk out of sight and, as they disappeared over the hill, she dropped to the floor and landed with a soft thud. Her heart had broken in her chest. Tears flowed from her eyes and her body was shaking violently. Never before had she felt like this. She had lost people before. She had watched them die. But this felt different. She had never before been forced to just watch them walk out of her life.

Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and she looked up. Through the blur of her tears she recognised Minerva McGonagall. Slowly her teacher hoisted her up and supported her. Her voice was soft and comforting. "Come with me, Miss Granger. I think it is time for you and I to talk"


	5. Winter Hearts

_This turned into a very long chapter but I didn't want to cut it in half! So enjoy because the plot is about to change!_

* * *

Hermione stared into her cup of herbal tea. The mug was warm and she clutched it tightly between her fingers. Slowly the warmth crept through her body. She had not touched the biscuits that stood on a small plate on the table. Her tears had dried but the bright red marks on her cheeks had not quite faded. She didn't want to look up to Professor McGonagall, who was sitting beside her on the sofa though she could feel her teacher's eyes rest on her. Bellatrix had only left an hour ago and already it felt as if a piece of her had been cruelly taken away.

"Feeling any better?" McGonagall asked. She had finished her tea but had observed Hermione had not drunk hers. The young witch seemed deeply lost in thought and for a moment McGonagall hesitated in disturbing her. She suspected whatever place Hermione was hiding in made her feel more comfortable than her present whereabouts. "Miss Granger?"

Hermione snapped back into reality and looked up at the sound of her teacher's voice. She had been thinking about Bellatrix and imagined her sitting on the train, gazing out of the window. She wondered if Bellatrix was thinking of her too. "Sorry Professor" She put down her mug and folded her hands in her lap. "I err... I was just thinking..."

"About Miss Black by any chance?" McGonagall questioned, a little smile lingering around her lips. Though worry reflected in her eyes when she saw how Hermione's eyes lit up. "I could not help but notice that you two have become quite close in the last few weeks"

Hermione could feel herself blush and averted her eyes. Her cheeks turned an intense shade of crimson. She would never have thought about talking about something like this with a teacher. She knew full well what she was doing was full of risks. She had endangered everything and she doubted McGonagall knew really how much. "We are friends, Professor"

"More than friends the way I see it, Miss Granger" said Professor McGonagall. Hermione's eyes snapped up. They found the green of her teacher and she sighed. There was no use in lying. She knew McGonagall knew. She sighed and admitted her defeat. "Surely I do not need to remind you of the dangers of such activities, Hermione"

"Believe me, I am very much aware of them" answered Hermione and shook her head. The inner battle had driven her almost insane. Every day she felt it. Every day she felt the strength of her feelings for Bellatrix and her loyalty to what awaited her back home. Sometimes she would look at Bellatrix and remember how she watched her die. "You have no idea how this makes me feel. I feel like I should be happy. No one has ever made me feel the way Bella does. But at the same time I feel sad and devastated because I know none of this is really real. She is a part of the past. Almost a figment of one's imagination. I shouldn't look at her like she is seventeen. I should see her as what she is to become. A monster"

Curious, McGonagall cocked her head. She was aware of Bellatrix's fascination with the Dark Arts. She knew the Blacks were one of the darkest families out there. With an obscure family history and drastic measures to keep the family tree pure. "A monster? But Miss Granger, why would you describe her as such?"

Hermione shook her head. "Because I know what she will become. I will endanger the timeline by telling you, Professor" She averted her eyes, feeling the inner turmoil all over again. She couldn't even speak the truth about what Bellatrix would become. Speaking it out would mean it was real. It would spoil the image she had now. It would devastate her. "So much will happen in the future. So much is going to change... It hurts to walk here today and see so many faces of those who have suffered or died"

"The future holds some dark times" McGonagall concluded from Hermione's words and the young witch nodded. Tears began to seep through her eyelashes and she started sobbing. Her shoulders shook and she tried to brush the tears away. She had not cried like this since she arrived in this timeline. But so much had happened. Her mind seemed to constantly be in an utter state of confusion. She shivered when she felt McGonagall's hand on her shoulder but eventually she allowed herself to be hugged by her teacher.

McGonagall held a shaking Hermione and safely locked her in her arms. She brushed her fingers through Hermione's curls as the girl rested against her shoulder. Hearing and seeing the girl cry almost broke her heart. She had never coped well with seeing her students cry. Her mind was adding the pieces together of what she read between the lines. "Hermione, how much of what will happen is due to the rise of that Dark Lord?"

Hermione sat up and brushed a few stray tears from her cheeks. Her eyes were red rimmed and swollen. She took a few deep breaths. "Everything" she hic coughed. She took a few seconds to collect herself. Her breath evened and her hazel eyes met the green ones of her teacher. "I just wish... I just wish I could tell you everything and change it. But I can't. And I wish I could. I keep thinking every day that there is so much I can undo. People don't have to die. The Dark Lord... can be stopped. I... I can change everything"

"I do not envy the position in which you have found yourself, Hermione" McGonagall spoke with a surprisingly soft voice, causing Hermione to look up "I cannot imagine the turmoil you must feel inside. Not to mention finding yourself experiencing loving feelings for someone in this timeline...I do not know how I would cope with knowing I can change the future, prevent bad things from happening without ever being able to tell"

Hermione averted her eyes and sighed. "I don't know how I am coping, Professor. I mean... my actions will affect the timeline regardless. The Black sisters will have some form of memory of me, though I am unsure in what way. It is impossible for the timeline not to have been changed. Who knows, Bella might not even end up doing what she did..." It was a hopeful statement. If Bellatrix refrained from being a Death Eater, they could perhaps meet again when she returned home. It was a farfetched theory, but it gave her the hope she needed.

"Perhaps it is best for us to continue this conversation at a different time, Miss Granger" said McGonagall and she leant back slightly, her eyes still resting on Hermione "I trust today has been emotional enough for you. I will however advice you to write in your diary and express some of your concerns. Though I can understand if you do not include your relationship with Miss Black"

Hermione nodded and stood up. She walked to the door and just as she was about to step out of McGonagall's office she turned around. "You are not only my teacher in my timeline, Professor. You are also my friend. And I am grateful for that. You are an inspiration. In both timelines" With those words Hermione left McGonagall to her own ponderings and started her walk through the now almost empty castle, back to the Slytherin common room.

She used to love Christmas but now, as she stared out over the snow covered ground, it was the loneliest time of year. Almost all the students had gone home to spend time with their families and loved ones. Hermione held still by one of the many windows and just stared outside. She had never felt emptier in her life. Not even during some of the long nights when she travelled with Harry and Ron. When it felt like the war would never end. Back then it had felt as if she was complete. Now it felt like something had been taken away. Silent tears trickled down her cheeks as she started walking again, absentmindedly making her way back to the common room.

Walking into the dungeon like Slytherin common room was only another reminder of her emptiness. The greenish glow in the room seemed far less inviting than ever before. The fire burned in the fireplace and Hermione dragged one of the carved armchairs towards it. She cuddled herself up and pulled a blanket over her. She couldn't face looking around the room. Her mind kept picturing Bellatrix sitting on one of the leather sofas, doing her homework. She was convinced she could hear her laughter in the back of her mind, following her like a haunting echo. Her eyes fluttered shut and she gave in to the awful hollow feeling in her chest.

She ignored McGonagall's suggestion and never went to collect her diary. Outside the snow started falling again, thickening the white blanket of glistening white crystals. As the hours past, the fire in the fireplace died out and the sun began to set behind the horizon – leaving the world as dark and hollow as she felt inside.

* * *

Christmas Day had never before been such a nightmare. Hermione woke up in an empty dormitory, in an empty bed. It was quiet without the usual sound of her roommates' snoring and breathing. The floor was cold under her feet when she slipped out of bed. A small package was lying at the edge of her bed. She recognized Bellatrix's handwriting immediately on the small piece of parchment and with trembling fingers she opened it. She found a small black box and when she clicked it open there was a golden ring with one single black diamond embedded in the centre resting on red velvet.

_Merry Christmas, my love. We will change everything when I come back. Bella._

Hermione gasped at the message. Her heart both cried in sadness and joy. "Bella..." she whispered as she carefully slipped the ring on her finger. It fitted perfectly and it sparkled in the early morning light. A single tear slid down her cheek as she touched the ring. She glanced around the dormitory. Bellatrix's bed was neatly made. With a sigh she gathered her things and left the dormitory for the girls' bathroom.

An hour later she walked into the Great Hall for a Christmas breakfast. The house tables had been replaced by just one long table. Teachers mixed with the few students who had remained behind. They were mainly Ravenclaws and the odd Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The table looked like it was about to crack under the amount of food, Christmas crackers and funny looking toys. Hermione watched the scene for a moment or two before deciding to sit a bit further away from the larger group. She wasn't in the mood for company or pulling the silly Christmas crackers with Professor Flitwick. She piled some food on her plate, though it seemed quite unattractive. She wasn't hungry but she feared the all seeing eye of Professor McGonagall if she didn't at least pretend to eat.

"Merry Christmas, Miss Granger" came the voice of Minerva McGonagall and Hermione looked up from her bacon and eggs. She forced a smile on her face and almost automatically hid her left hand, with the ring, under the table. Ever since she had put it on, she had felt a strange tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach and she suspected Bellatrix had put some kind of charm on it though she didn't know what. But she didn't want for McGonagall to find out.

"May I join you?" asked her teacher and Hermione nodded politely. And so McGonagall slid down in the seat beside Hermione and provided herself with some food drink. There were a few moments of silence as both witches focused on their breakfast. McGonagall openly laughed at Dumbledore wearing one of the silly Christmas hats though Hermione merely smirked.

After about fifteen minutes Hermione could no longer stand the happy banter and chatting that went round the table. The smiling faces and the ongoing Christmas songs were driving her close to insanity. Her heart ached in her chest as the warm tingling in her stomach slowly spread through her body. She excused herself and stood up. When McGonagall was about to follow, Hermione spun around. Hazel eyes caught the green ones of her teacher. "I just want to be alone. Please..." She almost chocked on her tears as she spoke. McGonagall silently nodded and Hermione rushed out of the Great Hall. Once she was alone she looked at the ring on her finger. Whatever magic Bellatrix had placed on it, it was leaving her feeling even more alone. She sighed and dropped to the floor. She just wished for the Christmas holidays to be over.

* * *

Hermione spent most of her days walking across the ground, often tracing her own footsteps in the snow. She sat by the lake, watching how the occasional bird skidded over the ice. Flowers had withered and the trees had lost their leaves, leaving the grounds empty and bare. She would conjure up flowers and animals, only to watch them fade as the hours past. A weak winter sun sometimes peered through the grey clouds on the days that snow didn't fall. December silently changed into January and she spent New Year's Eve standing on the Astronomy Tower – watching the fireworks in the distance brighten up the ink black sky. It was a reminder of her loneliness and of how much time had passed since she arrived here. It had been 3 months and still there was no sign of anyone finding a way to send her home.

Eventually the first week of January came to an end and that Friday night the Hogwarts Express was due to roll back into Hogsmeade and return the students. Hermione paced around the Entrance Hall after she had spotted McGonagall and Dumbledore enter the Great Hall. It would not be long before the students would return. The big doors swung open and she could hear the familiar sound from the wheels of the carriage on the gravel. Her heart leapt up in her chest and she nervously turned towards the door to watch the students walk inside. There were so many of them coming in at once it was almost impossible to tell one apart from the next. Hermione rose to her tiptoes to overlook the crowd, her heart racing in her chest.

"HERMIONE!"

Her head snapped into the direction from which Bellatrix's voice had come and she discovered her as Bellatrix freed herself from a group of seventh year Slytherins. She crossed the Entrance Hall and wrapped her arms safely around Hermione when she reached her. "You are still here" she whispered into Hermione's curls and rested her head on her shoulder.

"I missed you" Hermione whispered in Bellatrix's ear. Holding her again almost instantly erased the awful feelings she had felt throughout the last two weeks. She took a deep breath, taking in the familiar scent of the dark haired witch's perfume "I wouldn't have left without seeing you again"

When they eventually let go of each other most of the students had already entered the Great Hall and Professor McGonagall was watching them from the open door. A smile lingered on her lips but Hermione saw the worry reflect in her eyes when she walked past her. They found a seat at the Slytherin table and Hermione said hello to Narcissa and Andromeda, both of which seemed very chatty and eager to know what it had been like to be left at Hogwarts. As the evening progressed, Hermione noticed Bellatrix was rather quiet and she nervously eyed her up from the side. Bellatrix was pushing her food around her plate without really eating anything and an absentminded look had filled her eyes.

It was late by the time everybody left the Great Hall and Hermione and Bellatrix avoided returning to the Slytherin common room. They walked around the castle, hand in hand until they reached the courtyard where they had talked the night before Bellatrix went home. Bellatrix climbed on the wall, her dark eyes resting on Hermione.

"What's wrong, Bella?" Hermione questioned as she too climbed onto the wall and sought her lover's hand. Bellatrix's hand was cold in her own and Hermione rubbed it to warm it up. "You have been so quiet"

"Mother and Father have been making arrangements for my wedding" Bellatrix spoke through clenched teeth and tightened her grip on Hermione's hand. The mere mentioning of the wedding was enough to send a cold shiver through Hermione's spine. She glanced at the golden ring around her finger. "I was forced to spend Christmas in the company of that pig Rodolphus Lestrange. That man will never touch me with one finger, I will swear to it now"

Hermione sighed. "What happened?"

"He is just an arse" Bellatrix spoke in a very unladylike manner. She knew her mother would magically let her wash her mouth with soap if she ever heard her speak in such a way. She rested her head against the wall. She felt all the frustration, anger and pain she had felt throughout the past two weeks rush through her again. Never before had she hated it so much to be in the company of her parents. Every night she silently wished she would wake up to find it had been a nightmare. But she never did. "Sometimes I just wish I wasn't a pure blood. No matter what my Father says. That I too can love whoever I want..." Dark eyes captured Hermione's gaze. "That I can love you"

Hermione's eyes fluttered shut. The words were both beautiful and painful. After a few seconds she opened them again to find Bellatrix staring into the night. Sadness overwhelmed her. It was clear Bellatrix really did not want to marry Rodolphus Lestrange and was being forced to do what her family expected her to. She was about to open her mouth and tell her she loved her too when a figure approached them from the shadows. In orange light of the torches Hermione recognized McGonagall instantly and felt a sense of irritation fall over her.

"I am sorry to interrupt Miss Granger, Miss Black" McGonagall said, her eyes flicking between Hermione and Bellatrix. There was something about her voice. Something electric, almost exciting. Hermione's eyes warily searched McGonagall's face but she wasn't giving anything away "I urgently need you to come with me, Miss Granger. The Headmaster wishes to see you right this moment"

Hermione looked at Bellatrix and she recognized the fear in her lover's eyes. Dark eyes had widened in horror at the appearance of McGonagall and were now riddled with fear. She felt it too. She nodded and slipped off the wall as to follow McGonagall. She was half way down the corridor when she turned and found Bellatrix still sitting on the wall and staring into the night. Even in the orange gloom of the torches she could see the tears glisten as they trickled down her lovers cheeks.

She followed McGonagall to Dumbledore's office. With every step her legs felt heavier and when she stepped into the office she found the Headmaster pacing around. He looked up when Hermione entered the room and behind his glasses his blue eyes lit up. "Ah Miss Granger, Minerva..." He walked around his desk and sat down. From his desk he picked up the diary Hermione had been writing in. She frowned. How on Earth had that ended up in here? She had not touched it for nearly two weeks and she did not remember removing it from under her bed. She then remembered Dumbledore had -of course- far more intelligent ways of magic to retrieve items and she sighed. Seeing the diary already told her why she was here. Her heart sunk into her shoes as she slumped down in one of the chairs.

"Miss Granger, I have received a positive message from your own time line. Apparently someone inside the Ministry has developed a method to reverse the effects of a Time Turner. This would mean that instead of sending one backwards in time it will send someone forwards instead. It has got everything to do with the hour glass inside the Time Turner and reconfiguring its magical limits" Dumbledore spoke whilst folding his hands on his desk. Behind Hermione Professor McGonagall seemed strangely excited. Hermione just felt her heart break further with every word. "They have given us the instructions how to achieve it. The Time turner should be ready to use within the next 48 hours"

Hermione felt nothing. Her heart didn't even ache. It had shattered in her chest. She felt hollow and empty. All she could think of was Bellatrix. All she could see were the tears sliding down her cheeks. She swallowed. "I... I am going... _Home?_"

McGonagall's hand rested on Hermione's shoulder, giving her an encouraging squeeze. Her voice was warm and kind, though it still betrayed her excitement. She remembered the devastated young witch that sat on her sofa two weeks ago. It had pained her to see someone so broken. "Yes Hermione, you are going home. This will all be over soon"

Hermione unexpectedly jumped to her feet and spun around. Hazel eyes pierced into the green ones of her teacher before she snapped them towards Dumbledore. Angry tears glistened in her eyes. She looked desperate. It was as if suddenly everything fell apart before her eyes. "What if I don't want it to be?"

"Miss Granger..." Dumbledore began but Hermione turned away. She didn't want to hear it. She knew she couldn't stay. But hearing it made it real. And she didn't want it to be real. She quickly walked to the door and rapidly made her way down the spiral staircase. McGonagall's voice called after her but she ignored her. Hermione's feet echoed through the stone staircase. Her heart pounded in her chest as she ran through the corridors, back to the courtyard where she had left Bellatrix. Her feet echoed through the empty castle corridors. She was relieved to see Bellatrix was still there and she threw herself in her lover's arms. She had been fighting her tears, her angry and her pain but now everything came undone. Bellatrix's brown eyes closed when she felt Hermione sob against her shoulder. Her fingers ran through her lover's hair and she rested her head against Hermione's body.

"They have found a way" Hermione whispered through her tears and she could feel Bellatrix's tears seep through her curls and down her neck. Bellatrix's fingers desperatly clutched Hermione's shoulders, her hair, her hands, her arms. Anything to hold onto her. Anything at all. Hermione's voice was smothered by her own tears. "They have found a way and they are sending me back..."

Bellatrix was silent for a few more moments and then, slowly, she moved away from Hermione and looked at her. She lifted up her chin with her index finger. With her other hand she searched for the hand on which Hermione wore the ring. "Do you know what this is?" she questioned as she touched the ring on Hermione's finger "This is a reminder of how much I love you. And by now you will have noticed it is no ordinary ring..."

Hermione nodded. The feeling she got as soon as she put it on had not changed. And since Bellatrix returned it had only gotten stronger. An invisible force that brought her back to Bellatrix. "What did you do to it?"

"Me? Nothing. But the ring has an identical twin" Bellatrix showed her left hand. Only now did Hermione see that Bellatrix was wearing the same ring. The black diamond glistened in the light. "The magical folklore states that the two diamonds will only respond when the rings are worn by destined lovers"

Hermione gasped silently. "Destined perhaps... but fate is deciding differently for us"

Bellatrix's hand slipped up the side of Hermione's face and caressed her cheek. Hermione rubbed her face against the palm of Bellatrix's hand. The witch's dark eyes glistened mysteriously as the corners of her mouth began to curl up into a little smile. Hope lingered in her voice. "How long do we have?"

"Less than 48 hours" Hermione whispered. The realisation began to sink in.

"We only need one" Bellatrix whispered and leant in to kiss Hermione. The kiss was desperate, passionate and hungry. Hermione answered her kiss and for several moments the world ceased to exist. When both eventually broke away, Bellatrix's breath felt warm against Hermione's skin. "Marry me"

Hermione stared at Bellatrix. Her heart was racing and it was pounding so hard in her chest she believed it was going to break free. Her voice betrayed her excitement and her fear."Marry you? But Bella...The timeline. You know we can't... it will change _everything_"

Bellatrix grasped Hermione's hand. Suddenly desperation flickered in her dark eyes. "How much do you really care about the timeline, my love? You already told me the truth! If I marry you now, it means I can never marry Rodolphus. It means that you can never marry anybody else. It binds us magically. Forever. Unless one of us dies or divorces the other the bond cannot be broken. It survives even the hands of time!"

Hermione forgot about all the restrictions. She forgot about all the rules and all the consequences. She forgot about the future and about the past. Her actions would destroy the world she knew. It would change everything. Though she would never know how much she had already changed things. She looked at Bellatrix. She felt manically excited, slightly crazy and completely overwhelmed. She smiled in a way she had never smiled before. "Where do we go?"

Bellatrix grasped Hermione's hand even tighter. The strength of the joined diamonds was overwhelming. She leant in and kissed her briefly. Devotion could be tasted on her lips. A trace of that familiar craziness that would become her character trait. "Come with me"

* * *

Hermione never asked how Bellatrix managed to Apparate out of Hogwarts grounds but when she opened her eyes she found they had reappeared outside an old, medieval looking church in the middle of nowhere. There was not a soul in sight. The nigh was dark and cold. The wind cut through their robes and pulled at their hair. Inside the church a weak light was burning and it came, as Hermione saw when they hurried inside, from several candles in the windows. It was cold inside too. She guessed the church to be several hundreds of years old and wondered to herself how Bellatrix knew of this place. Somehow Bellatrix did not strike her as someone who had visited churches throughout her life. She glanced at Bellatrix. She looked beautiful in the weak candle light.

This was crazy. Absurd. But she had to listen to her heart. She would never be able to forgive herself if she didn't. She would never know. And she would never have her in any other way.

"Isaac?" Bellatrix called and from the back of the church a man appeared. He straightened his back and Hermione guessed him to be in his late fifties. He had a round, bland face and short black hair that had started to turn grey at his temples. He was dressed in black robes and his grey eyes instantly focused on Bellatrix.

"Miss Black" Isaac spoke with a strong Irish accent, much to Hermione's surprise. A smile appeared on his face that reminded her of something, or someone, though she could not quite recall why. He curiously eyed up Hermione standing beside her. "How may I help you on this cold night?"

Bellatrix glanced at Hermione. "I need that favour you promised me, Isaac" Her dark eyes pierced into those of the middle aged man standing in front of them.

Isaac seemed to know exactly what Bellatrix meant. "The diamonds worked, Miss Black? The folklore has been proven right?" he questioned as his eyes drifted to Hermione and then dropped to her hand. He noticed how both witches were wearing the same golden band. He nodded, more to himself than to Bellatrix and Hermione. "I see... Miss Black, please follow me"

Bellatrix took Hermione's hand and they followed Isaac further into the church. With every step, Bellatrix's grip tightened. Hermione glanced at Bellatrix. She was not quite sure whether she trusted the man. He looked like a wizard, and a dark one at that, but he left her with a creepy and uncomfortable feeling. "Who is he, Bella?"

"Isaac is an old family friend. He is the man who provided me with these rings, my love. My Father's acquaintances have got some good use for me too. He was the one to tell me about the power of the diamonds once I learned about my arranged marriage. It was my intention to find my destined lover. Isaac also promised me he would marry me to whoever that lover turned out to be if it would prevent me from marrying Rodolphus Lestrange"

"Right, this shall not take long" Isaac spoke when they reached the little altar in the back. Suddenly Hermione realized how little this place looked like a church. No religious statues, no crucifix. No bible. But there was a small altar with several candles. From his sleeve Isaac drew his wand and turned to look at Bellatrix and Hermione. "Please take each other's hand"

Bellatrix's left hand took Hermione's left. Both rings now glistened in the candle light. It almost seemed as if the black diamonds were beating like two separate hearts, in two separate rhythms. It eased as Isaac drew his wand and aimed it at their joined hands. Bellatrix's eyes caught Hermione's. They looked at each other. Magic filled the air around them. Words needn't be spoken. There was a warm sensation shooting through Hermione, from her head to her toes. A light ignited in Bellatrix dark eyes. She appeared to light up under the magic that surrounded them. The rings around their fingers began to glow brightly and for a second the black diamonds lit up blood red. And then, they eased and the separate beatings slowly were reduced to one. The diamonds were beating together. Isaac slowly withdrew his wand and looked at the two witches before stepping backwards. "Your wish has been fulfilled, Miss Black"

Bellatrix looked at Hermione. "How does it feel to be forever magically bound to someone, my love?"

Hermione felt her heart glow in her chest. Forgotten were the rules, the promises and everything else. Tonight she did not remember her friends, her loved ones. She did not even remember the world outside these walls. Hermione's hazel eyes found Bellatrix's. "Like perfection"


	6. A Lost Hope

_Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. _  
_Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. _  
_But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever._  
_~Anonymous_

* * *

A walk under a star riddled sky, the snow still crispy underneath their boots. They held hands, the diamonds slowly easing in the rings around their fingers. The enchanting feeling in her stomach stills slumbered there, reminding her silently of the promise she had made. Hermione glanced at Bellatrix walking beside her. Her raven black curls seemed to glow in the silver moonlight that fell through the clouds. The snow sparkled like tiny crystals, leaving the world in a serene and in an almost mystic glow. Bellatrix's hand felt warm in her own and she could see the little smile lingering on her lips whenever the moon reflected of her face. Her heart had eased in her chest, beating contently in its newfound love. Hazel eyes searched her lover's face.

"What will this have done to the timeline?" It was the first time Hermione reminded both of them of what they had done. They had risked the fate of the whole world for their own love. Bellatrix stopped walking. "Because I know what would have happened to you. I know what lay ahead. And none of that is certain now"

Bellatrix turned to look at Hermione. Intense dark eyes caught Hermione's. The light she had seen when they were united still flickered in those dark brown orbs. "You never told me what happens to me. All these years from now"

Hermione's mouth became dry and she averted her eyes. "I am not sure if you really want to know that" she answered with a little voice. She easily called up the image of the deranged Bellatrix Lestrange she knew, dancing around and cackling manically as she fired curse after curse. She still remembered the erratic devotion in her eyes, her so called love for the Dark Lord. And she still easily could call up the moment in which she watched her die. "What happens in the future is filled with darkness, Bella. So many will die. So many will suffer... And now I don't even know which of that is true anymore"

Bellatrix slowly nodded. "I understand" She glanced up to the moon. "Do you think we would have known by now if anything had changed?"

"Maybe not us. But I think the others, back in 1999, will" Hermione answered softly. She tried to imagine what Minerva McGonagall would do. Surely she would have realized that it had been because of Hermione the timeline had changed. She wondered how it would manifest itself. Would things just change or would people wake up in the morning with new memories, events that took place over night that suddenly are thirty year old memories?

"We will never know" Bellatrix answered and glanced at Hermione. Honesty flickered in dark eyes. A single tear slipped down her cheek. "You are afraid to tell me I am dead in your timeline, aren't you?"

Hermione's heart skipped. Hearing Bellatrix speak those awful words hurt. Suddenly the cold wind invaded her chest and numbed her heart. "I...Yes, I was. And I don't know what will happen now, Bella. This may have changed everything. Maybe you are alive. Maybe you are not. But it feels that, regardless of whatever, I am going to lose you when I leave. Because the Bellatrix I will find on the other side is not the same Bellatrix that I met here"

Bellatrix wanted to answer something but words failed her. She remained silent and her hand just took a tighter hold of Hermione's. The one hour they were going to spend away from Hogwarts rapidly faded. One hour turned into two, two turned into four. They walked till the sun began to climb over the horizon and made the snow glisten on the top of the hills. Somewhere a bird began to sing a winter song. Hermione looked at Bellatrix. Tears glistened in her eyes. Mere hours from now she would leave her. And she didn't know if, or how, she would ever see her again.

The sun climbed higher over the horizon. They could not deny it any longer and returning to Hogwarts became inevitable. Hermione held onto Bellatrix's hand as they Apparated. Seconds later, with a soft CRACK, they reappeared just outside the main entrance. Morning had fully broken and the first students had already made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Neither of them had slept and Hermione only now realized how tired she was. She still held Bellatrix's hand but was forced to let go when a group of seventh year Slytherins came down the Grand Staircase.

"Why Lestrange, isn't that your soon to be wife? She could do with a Beauty Spell" cackled an amused Lucius Malfoy when the group walked past Hermione and Bellatrix. The comment was aimed at the fact that Bellatrix's hair was tangled and she looked paler than normal due to the lack of sleep. Lucius made sure to crash into Bellatrix as they walked past.

"His _wife_?" Bellatrix hissed dangerously through his teeth and her hand slipped in her pocket, drawing her wand "Not until hell freezes over" She had muttered the hex under her breath and the spell crashed directly into both Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange. Painful looking boils appeared on their faces and began to spit yellow pus at their surrounding friends. Both young men screamed and cried in horror and began to run in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

Hermione smirked at the amusing sight and then followed Bellatrix into the Great Hall. There were only a few students sitting at the house tables. They sat down at the Slytherin table and played around with their breakfast. The sausages, toast and eggs were not interesting nor did they taste nice. Hermione's head felt heavy. The ring around her finger glistened and she glanced at it for a moment. The reminder of what she had done. The promise she had made. The reminder of how much she loved Bellatrix. A bit further down the table Andromeda and Narcissa had piled their plates full of food, oblivious to the emotional moments shared by Bellatrix and Hermione. Neither was hungry and the tired feelings quickly subsided when Hermione discovered McGonagall and Dumbledore walk to the Staff table. Suddenly she realized, from the serious look they have her, she didn't have forty eight hours. She had less. She glanced at Bellatrix and caught her hand.

"I don't want to waste time sitting here" she whispered and stood up. The hollow feeling in her heart only spread through her body. Bellatrix followed and the two of them left the Great Hall. Hermione could feel McGonagall's eyes in her back as they left but she didn't turn around. They walked through the corridors; their hands joined. And once again they found the favourite spot by the courtyard. Both climbed on the wall, Bellatrix's back rested against the pillar. Hermione rested her head against Bellatrix's chest and her lover ran her fingers through her bushy brown curls. They sat like this, in silence, as the minutes began to pass away.

"I won't have forty eight hours" Hermione whispered softly as a tear slipped down her cheek "I just know it. That look on McGonagall's face... it's the same wherever I am. She knows something. And I know that today they will send me back"

"Don't leave" Bellatrix breathed warm against the back of her neck and wrapped her arms around Hermione's waist. She kissed the side of her neck. "You can stay. I know it will be hard but you can do it. Please... just don't leave"

Hermione heard the tears in her lover's voice. She felt her black curls tickle her skin. Tears burned behind her eyes, angry and unfair. "I have to, Bella. There is too much at stake. What if I stay here and things happen differently? I don't think I could forgive myself if I stayed here without changing the timeline and save all those lives" She hesitated. "Listen to me..." She turned so she could look in Bellatrix's dark eyes. "Don't turn to the Dark Lord, Bella. Whatever happens, don't turn to him. You will lose everything. And... Always love your sisters" Tears were now really falling from her eyes. "Always love me"

"I will forever be yours, my love" Bellatrix kissed Hermione tenderly, their hands still clamped together. The diamonds in their rings were steadily beating in unison, like their hearts. The gold of their rings glistened in the early morning sunlight. It was as if their hearts fell apart, piece by piece until there was nothing left."My heart belongs to you"

Footsteps could be heard down the corridor and mere seconds later, Minerva McGonagall appeared in the company of Albus Dumbledore. Emerald green eyes swept across the faces of both witches. Almost instantly, Hermione hid the ring on her finger. Bellatrix followed. Both young women looked up, desperation flickering behind two sets of eyes. She wishes this wasn't true. She wished this wouldn't happen. That they would tell her that the Time Turner wouldn't work.

"Miss Granger, it is best if you come with us" Dumbledore said slowly, his eyes resting on both Bellatrix and Hermione. He could see the devastation in their eyes. His voice was soothing, calm. Though it could not erase the pain they felt. "It is time"

Hermione didn't move. Bellatrix's body felt so comfortable and warm against her own. She didn't want to leave her. She belonged with her. Her heart wept. Tears fell from her eyes. But Bellatrix's tender arms began to push her towards her teachers. Hermione's body froze and Bellatrix used a little bit more strength. When Hermione turned around she saw the endless tears stream down her face. Bellatrix's dark eyes were filled with tears; they trickled down her cheeks and slipped into Hermione's hair and robes.

After what felt like an eternity, Hermione slipped off the wall and turned to look at Bellatrix. Their eyes met and locked gazes. Words needn't be said. The look in their eyes said more than words ever could. Seconds felt like minutes and Hermione reached for Bellatrix's hand. The diamonds were still beating in unison. A reminder of the union their hearts had made.

"I love you" Hermione whispered so softly only Bellatrix could hear "Wherever I am"

"I will be waiting" Bellatrix leant in and tenderly brushed a string of hair behind Hermione's ear. She forgot about their teachers watching and kissed her softly on her lips. "I will be waiting, my love. On the other side. Waiting for you. Always. What we have, cannot be broken. Never"

Hermione held on to those words when she parted from Bellatrix. She instantly missed the feeling of her lips against her own. She missed the sweetness and the warmth. She missed the comfort of her body, having her near, touching her skin and holding her hand. She slowly stepped back, her eyes never breaking the intense eye contact. The space between them hurt more than anything. When she reached McGonagall she felt her teacher's hand on her shoulder. The touch was meant to be comforting but it just increased the pain. She spun around and suddenly ran down the corridor. Her heart was racing in her chest, her lungs pressing against her ribs. Tears burned the skin of her face. The pain she felt inside was worse than anything she had ever felt. Anger, pain, frustration... all the emotions rushed through her. She was panting by the time she reached Dumbledore's office. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead. She dropped to the floor. Her knees crashed against the ground. She had no idea how long she had sat like this until Dumbledore and McGonagall arrived. She was still sobbing when McGonagall kneeled down beside her and steadily begun to help her up.

The climb up the stairs to Dumbledore's office was exhausting. Every step hurt and she lacked the energy to make it all the way up. Hermione was broken and devastated and desperatly clutched on to Minerva, relying on her teacher to guide her up the stairs. Once they stepped into the round office, Dumbledore did not waste any time. He walked around his desk, picked up the golden chain with the hour glass and turned to look at Hermione.

"Miss Granger, would you come here please?" he asked with a clear voice. It sounded more like a demand than a request and Hermione reluctantly stepped forward. She was shaking and her hands were trembling. Silent tears still dripped down her cheeks. Dumbledore hung the necklace around her neck. The hour glass resting on her chest was a familiar feeling. Hermione's shaking fingers touched the gold chain. It felt cold and distant.

"The Time Turner has been enchanted in such a way that when I cast this spell it will twist itself as many hours back in time as needed to return you to your own timeline, Miss Granger" McGonagall tenderly brushed Hermione's hair out of her face. "And I have to remind you that, when you make it back to your own time and the necklace still hangs around your neck, it will be impossible for you to instantly return here. You cannot recreate the events that led to your arrival here"

Hermione silently nodded. The thought had crossed her mind for just an instant. To try and spin it all the way back. And then destroy it. But it was clear she couldn't. She lifted up her head and met her teacher's green eyes. "Will you be waiting for me, Professor?"

McGonagall nodded and briefly touched Hermione's hand. "I will, Miss Granger. If we are correct the Time Turner will instantly send you back to this office. If not, the other possible destination is the bottom of Gryffindor Tower, where all of this started of course"

Hermione took a few deep breaths, closed her eyes and focused on the rapid beating of her heart. The darkness was slightly comforting. "I am ready, Professor"

She never saw McGonagall draw her wand from her sleeve. She never saw how she silently aimed it at the chain around her neck and whispered the spell. She felt the wind beginning to pull her hair. Jerky movements around her. Fragments of noises and bright flashes of light found their way into her ears and eyes. She picked up strange smells. She was too afraid to open her eyes. Opening her eyes would mean she could see everything change. She would see what she had lost. The spinning motion seemed to last forever. The jerky sensation didn't stop. It was as if an invisible force was pulling at her arms and legs and at her hair. Her stomach began to twist and turn and an intense sense of nausea fell over her.

And then it stopped.

There was silence. A deafening silence. She had expected voices. Someone calling her name. But there was nothing. Slowly Hermione reopened her eyes. The world was bright and she shielded her eyes from the intense sunlight that fell into the room. Her legs felt like jelly and her stomach was still rapidly turning. She felt like she was going to be sick. Her brain was trying to comprehend what had happened and with a thud she fell to the ground, landing on her hands and knees. She was heaving and her stomach emptied itself over the wooden office floor.

"Oh Miss Granger" It was the familiar Scottish lilt of Minerva McGonagall. Two strong hands suddenly clamped down on Hermione's shoulders, slowly pulling her up. Hermione fought. She didn't want to get up. She wanted to lie down. She wanted to sleep. She was still panting. Her stomach was empty and she had a disgusting taste in the back of her throat.

"Hospital Wing"

There was another voice. Hermione tried to recognise it but her mind was too blurred. There was a small flash of a light and a softly muttered spell. A light sensation swept through her and suddenly the floor seemed further away. The weightless feeling spread throughout her body and she just closed her eyes. She was exhausted.

* * *

The bed was soft and comfortable. Slowly her eyes reopened and the room around began to find its original shape. This was unmistakably the Hospital Wing. She recognized the two rows of beds and the screens separating them. The large window at the end of the ward let in the sunlight. She even recognized the blankets and sheets on the bed. The pillow was soft and somehow her head felt no longer as light.

"You're awake" said Minerva McGonagall and Hermione turned her head to the left. There was someone at her side. Her former Transfiguration teacher and now Headmistress had been sitting in the chair at her bedside but now stood up. It was strange seeing her like this. She was thirty years older. Her dark hair was slightly grayer in places. There were more wrinkles around her eyes and the glasses on her bony nose had not been there thirty years ago. However she was still wearing the familiar emerald green robes and black witch's hat. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I travelled through thirty years of time" Hermione groaned with a painful expression. She felt awful. Like her body had been mangled. She had a thumping headache. It was as if something or someone had reached inside her and just taken out her heart. She felt hollow and empty. All she could think of was _Bellatrix_. It had been her dark eyes she had seen whilst she was asleep. Her voice she heard echo around her head. Blankly she stared at McGonagall. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Just over an hour" McGonagall answered with a little smile "Which is not surprising considering what you have just been through. I will go and inform Madam Pomfrey you are awake. She can check you over and make su...-" She stopped mid sentence when her emerald green eyes dropped to the hand Hermione had just removed from under her blanket to rub her eyes. McGonagall reached forward and caught Hermione's wrist. The golden ring with the black diamond glistened in the sunlight. The diamond didn't appear to be beating like it had done before. Hermione's eyes widened.

"Miss Granger, what is this?" McGonagall's voice was suddenly sharp and her green eyes pierced into Hermione's. "You were not wearing this when you left so surely you must have acquired it whilst you were away..."

Hermione managed to free her wrist from McGonagall's grip and turned away. "It's a ring" she muttered under her breath. McGonagall's eyes still rested on her. She had not expected to have to share her secret so quick. Tears burned behind her eyes. The sensation the ring had given her in 1969 was gone. She felt hollow and empty. "I... It was a gift"

"There have been changes, Miss Granger. Big changes. Things which were different before you left. They seemed to have changed" McGonagall answered on a worrying tone "One morning we woke up in a different world. People who were dead were suddenly still alive. As if they had magically reappeared. Others were suddenly dead. People have memories they cannot quite explain. And the only reason I have for these changes... is you" She paused to take in a breath. "Though the changes cannot be undone you must tell me what happened, Miss Granger"

There was no answer and McGonagall seemed slightly agitated. "Hermione, do not take me for stupid or oblivious. I know this kind of ring. It is a ring that symbolizes unity. They often come in sets of two, with various gem stones. Each gemstone is rumoured to hold a different magical ability" Hermione slowly turned so she could look at her teacher. "It is the kind of ring shared between lovers"

Hermione's eyes fluttered shut at the mere mention of the world lovers and a tear slipped through her eyelashes. McGonagall saw it and cocked her head. "Then I am right. You have fallen in love"

Hermione reluctantly nodded. Bellatrix's dark eyes flashed before her eyes. She easily remembered her smile. How her fingers had felt against her own. "Yes, Professor..." Her voice had been reduced to a whisper. Another tear dripped down her cheek and fell onto her pillow.

"As long as the ceremony has not been performed, the magical abilities that linger inside the ring will not bind with their owners and the union has not been made" McGonagall spoke and then, when Hermione didn't move or answer, she dropped back in her chair. "Miss Granger... please tell me you haven't..."

Hermione's bottom lip trembled. Tears burned behind her eyes. "Professor, you don't understand..."

"The ceremony has been performed?" McGonagall asked and Hermione nodded very briefly "Dear God, Hermione. It means the union has been made. The binding between you and this other person is forever unless the spell is broken. And such an act can only be performed by someone in the same position as the one who bound you two together in the first place" She looked at Hermione. "It explains why the events have changed so much. Hermione, who is it? With whom did you enter this magical marriage?"

Hazel brown eyes unexpectedly lit up. Her lover's name fell of her lips so easily. "Bellatrix Black"

McGonagall looked defeated. The name of the most notorious Death Eater made her shiver. It felt unreal. She sat in her chair, devastation riddled across her face. Green eyes found Hermione's. The girl suddenly regained some of her colour and her cheeks had turned a light shade of pink. "Hermione, have you got any idea what this means?"

Hermione suddenly felt a sense of energy. Her lips curled up into a shy smile. "It means she is still mine"


	7. The Taste Of Loneliness

_"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,  
while loving someone deeply gives you courage."_  
_~Lao Tzu~_

* * *

Hermione woke in her by now familiar bed in the Hospital Wing. It had been two days since she returned to her own timeline and every time she saw somebody she had also seen in the past, she found herself surprised by how much or how little they had changed. She didn't see many people though. A handful of teachers. Mostly Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey but she also saw Professors Sprout and Flitwick. McGonagall insisted that Hermione didn't see Ginny but now that the days begun to pass, she could no longer stop her from seeing her friend.

"Hermione!" Ginny's excited voice came from the open door and Hermione sat up in her bed. A smile spread across her face when Ginny ran across the ward – much to the disapproval of Madam Pomfrey- and threw herself on Hermione's bed. They hugged for several moments and when they let go, Hermione noticed the changes in Ginny's face. She looked different. Something had changed. "I kept asking McGonagall whether I could see you but she was being a bloody pain..."

Hermione smirked. "You're here now..."

Ginny sat herself down on the bed and pulled her legs up under her backside. "I was so worried, Mione. I had no idea what you were doing and when McGonagall said you had gone quite far back in time I got scared they'd never get you back" Brown eyes caught Hermione's. Suddenly she realized what she saw in them. Sadness. There was sadness in Ginny's eyes. Ginny took a deep breath. "You must tell me everything"

"I don't know if I can" Hermione answered quietly and averted her eyes. Outside the weak winter sun was falling through the window. She had been standing by that window only last night. There was no snow covering the grounds. No white crystals that reminded her of what it had been like only a few days earlier. Winter at Hogwarts had been short this year. "So much has happened"

"McGonagall didn't say... how far back did you go?" Ginny ignored Hermione's reluctance. Something eager could be heard in her voice. As if she was looking for something. "Hermione?"

"Thirty years" answered Hermione. Her hazel eyes caught Ginny's. She looked pale, Hermione noticed. It was a sharp contrast with her fiery red hair. "I woke up in September 1969"

Ginny covered her mouth with her hands and suppressed a soft gasp. From the other side of the ward Madam Pomfrey was suspiciously observing them and Hermione suspected she would try and catch as much of the conversation as she could, only to pass it on to Minerva McGonagall. "That begins to explain it. How could it not. If you go back that far the timeline must be changed. It is way more than a whole generation. That must be what's done it..."

"What's done what?" Hermione questioned. Since her return McGonagall had been very careful about telling her things about the timeline. She had sensed things had changed but she had no idea how and whom they had affected. At this moment she still didn't even know whether Bellatrix was alive. When she had confessed to McGonagall, it had taken her teacher a few minutes to let the message sink in. But then she had gotten up and walked out only to return hours later. But never did she mention anything about the changes in the timeline. "Ginny, what's happened? I know something's changed but I... I don't know how..."

Ginny frowned slightly. "The memories... It's like I have double set. Some of them belong and some of them don't. It's like events have been planted in my head..." She hesitated and suddenly tears began to well up in her eyes. "Like it is not bad enough to watch one brother die..."

"One... – Ginny, who else?" Hermione breathed. Her heart was racing in her chest. Had her marriage to Bellatrix Black cost the life of another Weasley? Hazel eyes desperatly searched Ginny's face. "Talk to me"

"I have memories of Fred dying. Of seeing him lying there, with his eyes wide open. Dead. But... Suddenly they seem unreal. They are unreal. Fred is alive. It feels like it was all a dream. But...but..." Tears began to trickle down Ginny's cheeks. Hermione's brain was working rapidly. Fred Weasley was alive. A victim of the war who had been dead before she left was now alive. The time line had changed significantly and drastically. She let herself fall back in the pillows, a sigh escaping from her throat. "But Ron..." Ginny's voice broke.

"Ron?" Hermione whispered and suddenly the awful image of Ronald Weasley lying sprawled out over the cold castle floor with his eyes wide open, staring into nothing, flashed through her head. Like a distant memory suddenly floating back to the surface. It was as if it had been hidden in the corners of her mind, long forgotten and slumbering in the darkness. She couldn't call up the image of Fred in a similar position though she knew that once she had seen him like that. But the image was gone. Erased. Like it never happened. It had been replaced with Ron. Tears burned behind Hermione's eyes. Never had she believed Ron would die. Her voice was shaking. "Ron is... dead?"

"In the Battle" Ginny answered and Hermione understood she meant the Battle of Hogwarts. It would appear as if the loss of Fred's life had been replaced by the loss of Ron. Now she began to understand what McGonagall meant. The changes in the timeline were obvious but it was clear hardly anybody understood what happened. One day they had all just woken up in a different world. The changed events had become fact and nobody knew any better. Apart from those who perhaps had various memories and suspected something had changed. To others it felt like it had always been like this.

Hermione decided the best way to gain her information was by pretending she had lost her memories. She knew what had happened before she left. She still remembered. But she had to know what the world was like now and McGonagall wasn't going to tell her. "Gin, I can't remember... anything. My mind is a blur. I don't know..." Tears seeped through her eyelashes. The loss of Ron suddenly felt fresh and where it had been quite some time for Ginny it felt as if her friend had only just died. "You need to tell me. Tell me who died. Tell me who lived. Tell me everything"

Ginny nodded and briskly brushed her tears away. She looked at Hermione. Tears still dripped down her cheeks and her hazel eyes looked desperate. She sighed. "Ron died in Battle. He was fighting some Death Eater. Dolohov I think. And the curse... it just came. And it hit him and he was dead. Just like that. There were so many. So many who died. We put them in the Great Hall. Lupin's dead too but Tonks survived. Teddy will never know his father but he has his mother to tell him how wonderful he was. "

More changes. Before she left Tonks and Lupin both died in battle. Now one of them survived. And Hermione knew for a fact that Tonks had been a victim of Bellatrix before the timeline changed. It suddenly changed everything. She pushed herself up. "Did they capture all the Death Eaters?"

"Most of them, yes. Lucius Malfoy went to jail and will rot for the rest of his life in Azkaban. His wife is still free though, as is his son. You-Know-Who is dead. The Aurors killed Dolohov and Avery in battle. Yaxley escaped but they caught him the next day in the middle of London. The... the only one who really got away is Bellatrix Black. One minute she was fighting mom, the next she was gone" There was anger in Ginny's voice. Hermione's heart leapt up. Hope roared in her heart and the memory of intense dark eyes flooded back into her mind. Bellatrix had escaped. She was alive...

"Miss Granger, I think this is about as much excitement as one can bear after your adventures" spoke Madam Pomfrey in a correcting tone. She had appeared at the side of the bed and glanced at Ginny. "Miss Weasley is free to return to tomorrow morning but now you need to rest"

Whilst Madam Pomfrey watched Ginny reluctantly said goodbye and Hermione lay herself down in her bed. She rolled onto her side, with her back towards Madam Pomfrey. She could hear the school nurse shuffle around a bit before she retired back to her office. Hermione's heart was pounding fiercely in her chest, almost in a desperate outcry of joy. Something warm rushed through her veins, leaving her blushing slightly. She felt excited. Bellatrix was still alive. She was still out there. And their union still existed. Her hazel eyes dropped to the ring and she carefully circled the black diamond with her finger. And she could swear she felt it beating weakly underneath her touch.

* * *

Two more days past until Professor McGonagall finally decided it was OK for Hermione to begin taking her classes again. So that morning she got dressed at the side of her bed, checked her bags and studied her time table. It had of course changed from the one she had been following the past few months. Realizing she had double Charms, Hermione sighed and swung her bag over her shoulder. She said a polite goodbye to Madam Pomfrey, who appeared glad to see the back of her, and made her way from the Hospital Wing to the Charms classroom. She got there before most of her classmates did and entered the classroom. It was almost empty and her eyes almost instantly fell on the seat she and Bellatrix used to share. With a hollow feeling in her chest, Hermione sat down and opened her books. This was her first day back to her old, or maybe new, life and she had to make the best out of it.

After double Charms it was double Potions after which it was time for lunch. Hermione found herself eagerly accepted back in the Gryffindor crowd and only when she joined them at the house table, on the other side of the Great Hall, did she realize how much she had missed sitting with her friends. Though, with a strange melancholy feeling, her eyes were occasionally drawn back to the Slytherin table and she almost longingly stared at the silver and green robes. Her gaze was caught by McGonagall when she looked away and shamefully she stared at her lunch.

From the moment she confessed, McGonagall had said nothing about Hermione's magical marriage to Bellatrix Black and Hermione suspected she had been using her wisdom and contacts to try and work out a way that could perhaps undo the magical union that was made. But Hermione knew she would not find one as it would take both her and Bellatrix. And nobody knew where Bellatrix Black was. She had not been seen since the night of the battle and the Ministry hadn't a clue as to where she was hiding.

Talking to Ginny and some of her fellow classmates, under the pretence of memory loss, Hermione quickly gathered information on the events that took place before, during and after the Battle. Some of the deaths had indeed changed but it seemed that no one had really noticed the difference, apart from a few who – like Ginny- said it felt like they had two sets of memories. One that was true, the other felt like a dream.

After lunch was Herbology, double History of Magic (as boring as ever, even after thirty years) and double Transfiguration. It was that particular class Hermione had been dreading. And when she walked into the classroom and found Minerva McGonagall sitting behind her desk she felt the intense urge to turn around and run away. She was ten minutes early and normally she would have taken a seat and studied the material required.

But not today. McGonagall looked up when she heard Hermione come in. "Miss Granger, please sit down. I wish to speak to you"

Hermione sat down at one of the front row desks and folded her hands on the table. She blinked a few times in order to control, and hide, her nerves. But her voice was shaking anyway. "Professor?"

"As your classmates undoubtedly will have told you, Bellatrix Black survived the war" Professor McGonagall said. Emerald green eyes pierced into Hermione's hazel brown. Hermione knew her teacher was trying to be strict but she could see the worry flicker deep beyond her eyes. "This is a great change in the original timeline, as Bellatrix Lestrange died in the previous version of the Battle. However, it would appear that your magical union has saved her life. And it is also clear she never did marry Rodolphus Lestrange as she is magically bound to you"

Hermione nodded. "I am aware" she answered and played with her fingers "Apart from what we both felt back then, it was also a pact we made to prevent her from ever marrying Lestrange. That marriage would have killed her..." She paused. "You and I both remember the two separate timelines, Professor. For whatever reason your memories are as intact as mine. And I believe that Bellatrix's are too. What else can you tell me?"

"Miss Granger, surely you are not considering finding Bellatrix Black?" McGonagall seemed astounded at the mere thought.

"With all do respect Professor but regardless of what she is to you and what she has done in this newly created timeline..." Hermione straightened her back and broadened her shoulders. A trait of arrogance she had picked up from Bellatrix. A trait she knew McGonagall would recognize. Green eyes flickered behind her spectacles. "She is still my wife"

"You two never spent a day of married life together" McGonagall said sharply. She clasped her hands together and peered over the rim of her glasses. Green eyes dangerously darkened. "You entered a magical binding. That is all. Never a day of married life, the pair of you. Never truly been together"

"She has thirty years of memories of being married to me" Hermione argued and almost instantly recognized defeat in McGonagall's eyes "She has thirty years worth of memories of me. Something she maybe can't explain. Or maybe it makes perfect sense" She raised her hand and showed the ring. McGonagall's eyes widened at the sight of the golden reminder. "You said you knew these rings. You know what they symbolize? You know what these magical diamonds do? They will only beat when they encounter their destined lover, Professor. And when Bella gave me this ring, the diamonds were beating like two separate hearts. But when the ceremony was performed, they were beating like one. And it is still beating now"

"You don't have to find her, Miss Granger" McGonagall argued but she reminded herself this was one third of the Golden Trio she was talking too. Neither of those students had ever listened to any teacher telling them not to do something and she doubted Hermione was about to listen now. "You don't owe yourself anything"

Hermione's hazel eyes caught Minerva's and she cherished the ring on her finger. "I owe her"

* * *

The days began to pass and slowly January was replaced by February. Excited girls began talking about Valentine's Day and were whispering together in the courtyard about the boys they wished would send them a card this year. The castle was filled with red roses and the beautiful scent lingered in the corridors. Sometimes Hermione would swear she could hear the suits of armour hum silly love tunes and suspected it had been Professor Sprout who had come up with that crazy idea. The freezing wind slowly eased off as the first days of February passed away. It would not be long till spring arrived and the first flowers would blossom.

Hermione found herself easily readjusting to life at Hogwarts the way she had always known it. Though sometimes, when she entered a classroom, she still looked for the faces of those she knew were now grown up. Or dead. Seeing Draco Malfoy sit at the Slytherin table was a cold reminder of the nights she had sat beside his mother, eating her food and sharing laughter.

It was in the dark hours of the night she missed Bellatrix most. It was in those hours she just longed for her arms around her, to feel her curls tickle her skin. Sometimes she could almost smell her perfume and it always felt as if those dark eyes were following her everywhere. Sometimes it almost felt like Bellatrix was watching her through the dark glass or from behind a shadowy corner. Hermione would swear she could hear her whisper sometimes, just loud enough to soothe her down to sleep. But when she woke up in the morning, when she still lingered in that peaceful state of slumber as sunlight fell into the room, she could feel her beside her. Only when her eyes opened, she was gone.

* * *

Hermione found herself trapped inside her longing for Bellatrix. It was as if McGonagall knew because for some reason she kept visiting the common room, almost as if she checked to see whether Hermione was sneaking out at night. She would call for Hermione to help her prepare for classes or ask her to join her in her chamber for tea and biscuits. But she never mentioned Bellatrix and the union she had entered. It was as if their magical bound was something not to be discussed. As if not talking about it would make it go away.

And so it happened that Valentine's Day passed and February quickly changed into March. Hermione found herself sitting at the Gryffindor house table one morning when, from the corner of her eye, she discovered Draco Malfoy leave the Great Hall. Hermione quickly glanced at the Staff table. McGonagall was unusually late and she saw her chance. She left her seat and abandoned her cereal and quickly followed Malfoy down into the dungeon. She knew the way to the Slytherin common room with her eyes closed but she needed the password to get in. To her surprise, the password was remarkably simple and unusual ("Severus Snape"). She lingered around the dungeons for a little bit longer but then had to return to her classes. Anxiety rushed through her as the hours began to pass. Now that she knew the password she waited till the end of the day, when all the Slytherins had retired to the Great Hall for tea. There were advantages to having lived like a Slytherin for several months and creeping around the castle without being seen was one of them.

She made her way down to the dungeons, stated the password and then Hermione entered the dungeon like common room. She was surprised to find it had changed little over the last thirty years. The same carved chairs, similar leather sofas and the familiar green glow from the lake. It felt an awful lot like home, much like the Gryffindor common room did. The lampshades had been replaced and a trophy cabinet had been erected in the corner. She noticed, to her bemusement, it was about half as empty as the Gryffindor one. Standing in the middle of the common room it was as if the images from the past suddenly returned. She heard the familiar voices. Shadows seemed to float into the room, turning into those she had once known. She imagined Narcissa sitting by the fire, doing her homework with a pained expression on her pretty face. And she could picture Andromeda in her favourite chair by the window reading a book. And she could just picture Bellatrix, lying on the sofa as she chewed on her quill. She just looked at the sofa until the image faded.

She made her way to the boys' dormitory and found the rooms occupied by the seventh years. It was easy for a girl to sneak into a boys' dormitory but it was more difficult to do it the other way around. She pushed the door open and it was easy to tell which bed and trunk belonged to Malfoy. A large silver M was stitched on his pillow cover. She smirked to herself. The arrogance was still there. Or maybe it was pride. She knelt down beside his trunk and whispered a soft "Alohomora"

With a soft click the lock opened and she lifted up the lid. What she found was not that different from what she would find in her own trunk. Some clothes, old robes and some unused schoolbooks. The usual mess left behind by students. But what she wanted was something more important. Something she needed to see. And she knew Draco would have it. She didn't know how or why. Something just told her she would find it. She knew his mother well enough in that particular way. She had spent several months around Narcissa to observe some of her ways. And she wasn't wrong. At the bottom she found the picture, stuffed between a second year Charm's book and a third year Potions book. A Potions book that was no longer used in Hogwarts and hadn't been for thirty years.

She took the book and opened it. In the top corner, in a handwriting she had learned to recognise, she read Narcissa Black. Hermione swallowed. This was as close as she was going to come. She carefully pulled the picture from its hiding place and gasped silently. Three familiar faces stared back at her. Three young faces. Three faces who looked alike and yet were all so different. She stuffed the photo safely in her pocket, put the book back and closed the lid. Draco would never miss it because she doubted he had ever known it was there. She locked the trunk, rose back to her feet and carefully made her way out of the dormitory. She snuck out of the Slytherin common room and with the picture safe in her pocket she made her way to Gryffindor Tower.

The picture was all she had of Bellatrix now. And as she sat by the window in Gryffindor Tower, her index finger traces the lines of Bellatrix's face, her neck, her body. The tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach returned. The picture was taken during their one Christmas apart, when Bellatrix and her sisters had gone home. Bellatrix looked exactly like Hermione remembered her. Young, with a certain innocence still reflecting in her eyes. Her raven black curls fell down her shoulders, down the sharp line of her ivory toned face. And in the picture Bellatrix smiled. And Hermione knew that smile was for her.

* * *

The trip to Hogsmeade that followed the week after her find gave her the one opportunity she needed. Hermione was walking down the road leading into the wizarding village, her hands pushed deeply in the pockets of her jean. A soft little wind was blowing through the trees, rustling the first green leaves and slightly pulling at her hair. Professor McGonagall was distracted by a group of third years who were ending up in an argument. Two boys had drawn their wands and seemed ready to duel. Hermione watched for a split second, weighing up her chances. Not far behind her she could see Ginny walk down the road, accompanied by Seamus and Dean. If she waited, her chance would slip. She turned away and quickly hurried down a small path that led her through the trees. It didn't lead into Hogsmeade. In fact it didn't lead anywhere at all. She was sheltered between the trees and away from Hogwarts grounds. The magic that had restricted her from Apparating inside the grounds was gone. Hazel brown eyes fluttered shut and she spun on the spot. By the time McGonagall heard the familiar CRACK coming from between the trees, Hermione was gone.

She reappeared at the end of a magnificent drive. She almost instantly forgot her fear when she looked up to the Manor. She had suffered between those walls. She had experienced one of her worst moments here. And now she was back. Looking for the good. With a deep breath Hermione started along the driveway. Gravel snapped under her boots with every step, until she reached the front door. It was locked – unsurprisingly. Hermione firmly knocked on the heavy wooden door and waited.

Seconds past and then the door swung open. In the beam of yellow light coming from inside the house a figure appeared in the open door. To her horror and surprise Hermione was faced with Narcissa Malfoy. For a split second she remembered her as a teenager. Then she remembered her with a tear stained face during the Battle. The blonde witch's eyes widened when she discovered Hermione standing outside but realization dawned on her immediately. It was as if a hidden memory sparked in the back of her mind. Narcissa was dressed in snow white robes with a blood red broche pinned just above her right breast. Her long blonde hair was held back in a casual bun in the back of her neck.

"Miss Granger" Her voice was a mixture of contempt and surprise. She narrowed her eyes, as if suddenly memories began to float back into her. Cerulean eyes searched Hermione's face. The memories dawned on her. Narcissa's arrogance faded rapidly. "What are you doing here? How can I help you?"

Hermione showed Narcissa the ring around her finger. The black diamond glistened in the weak sunlight and when Narcissa gasped she slowly nodded. Both remembered. They both knew. Though Narcissa has grown up and Hermione had not changed at all, they shared the same memories. "You know why I am here, Mrs Malfoy" she spoke softly. Desperation flickered in her eyes. "You know where Bella is and I need you to tell me. I rely on you. I _need_ to find her"


	8. Something In The Mist

_Hearts live by being wounded_  
_~Oscar Wilde~_

* * *

Malfoy Manor had not changed since the last time she had been here. Hermione felt a cold shiver run up and down her spine as she followed Narcissa Malfoy through the large entrance hall. The hallway was still lined with portraits. Cold, grey eyes watched her arrival. Others seemed to be scrutinising Narcissa as she walked past. Narcissa was now the lady of the house, Hermione knew. Lucius was spending the remainder of his days in Azkaban and it would appear as if his ancestors did not quite approve of Narcissa still being here.

Hermione froze in the open door leading to the drawing room. The magnificent chandelier had been restored. An image flashed through her head of the thing falling down, partially on top of her. She flinched subconsciously. The dark purple walls were also still lined with portraits but it were not the portraits that terrified her. The memories in this room scared her more than anything. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the ornate marble fireplace and then to the floor. There, in that exact same spot, she had withered in excruciating pain as Bellatrix had tortured her. The thought of her lover causing her so much pain almost instantly drew tears to her eyes and she clamped herself to the doorframe.

Narcissa turned when she realized Hermione was not following her and raised her eyebrows. "Do come in, Miss Granger"

Hermione stepped into the drawing room and slowly walked across the room until she reached the fire place. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Narcissa from head to toe. She looked very little like the third year old she remembered. Her hair was still as blonde of course and her eyes still as blue but her facial expression had changed. There was no longer that innocence and the smile that had lingered on her lips for days on end had disappeared.

"How much do you remember?" Hermione asked whilst staring into the orange flames.

Narcissa stirred but did not turn to look at Hermione. She folded her hands but her eyes were fixed on a spot on the wall. "My memories are far from vague, Miss Granger. In whatever way. They collide with each other sometimes as they battle for strength. I always find myself questioning which ones are true and which ones are the remainder of my dreams"

Hermione realized Narcissa – like Ginny and Minerva- possessed both sets of memories. One set described the events before she travelled back in time, the other was the set that described the current timeline in which so much had changed. One of them was her husband locked away in prison. "The timeline has been changed far more severely than I thought" Hermione muttered, more to herself then to Narcissa. She slumped down in one of the black leather arm chairs. "I had no idea it could have such an impact"

Narcissa slightly turned and her eyes now rested on Hermione. "You have no idea what you have done"

"You're right. I don't. When I went back in time I had no idea I could change things so much. If I had known..." Hermione clutched her head and grabbed fistfuls of hair. Everything had changed. The life and future she had known before was gone. She had returned to a world she barely knew. One of her best friends was dead. He had died instead of his brother.

"I did not mean by simply travelling back in time, Hermione. That was an accident beyond your control" Narcissa now used her first name. A point that proved she remembered. Hermione looked up. Narcissa's eyes had darkened. It wasn't anger but there was a hit of disapproval flickering behind her cerulean eyes. "I mean the moment you married my sister and destroyed the future like it was supposed to have been"

Hermione sighed. Her heart ached in her chest and her mind was blurred. The world looked so different when she looked out of a window. The trees and the hills had not changed and the birds still sang their songs but everybody around here was different. She had looked at her friends and noticed how much they had changed. And she had caused it. Because she loved Bellatrix. Because she had married her. Their souls had been bound. A union that could not be broken. And she needed her. She needed her more than anything.

Hermione glared up to Narcissa, who now sat down in one of the other armchairs. Blonde hair almost seemed to glow in the yellow gloom of the fire. "I need to find her, Narcissa. I know what she was. Now I need to know what she is"

"She is your wife" answered Narcissa. Her voice was dull and her eyes pierced into Hermione's. She sighed. "She was unable to marry Rodolphus after she had married you. The shame upon my family was greater than you can ever imagine. My parents came close to disowning her until she joined the Dark Lord and earned my father's gratitude. Pride overcomes shame. Even in a pure blood family. And since you were gone... They couldn't marry her off but they didn't have to live with the reminder of their embarrassment either"

"The Dark Lord" Hermione sighed when she heard Narcissa mention Bellatrix had joined the Death Eaters after all. She remembered Ginny mentioning her and remembered how Ginny had said she got away after the battle. It was all she had left. The knowledge of her friend that Bellatrix was still alive. "I warned her not to. I warned her and she did not listen"

Narcissa searched Hermione's face. She recognised the same emotions she had seen in those hazel eyes thirty years ago. A look she only saw whenever Hermione looked at Bellatrix from across the room. She had long ago accepted her sister had fallen in love with a Muggle born. She was glad she had managed to hold onto her where she had lost Andromeda. Bellatrix had only joined the Dark side after immense pressure. Part of the promise she made was that her family would remain safe. But it was her own life she cared little about. With Hermione gone, it was as if she lost all reason to live. She had begun to challenge herself and others and once she joined the Dark Lord she was always the first one to sign up for the most dangerous missions. She had found solace and comfort in the constant pain her body was in. And it was why she did the things she did.

"Bella was a spy" Narcissa suddenly confessed, causing Hermione's head to snap up. Hazel eyes connected with Narcissa's blue. The words surprised her. "She started out working for the Order. She was passing on information about the Dark Lord so that the Order would succeed in their resistance. She was the one making sure the plans of the Dark Lord failed. No one was ever to know apart from Dumbledore. I doubt anyone in the Order knew. She never told anyone. Not even me. But I knew. I know my sister"

"A spy..." Hermione shook her head as the realization began to sink in. Had the timeline altered that much Bellatrix didn't sell her soul to the Dark Lord after all? Could it really have happened that – until that final moment inside the castle- she had held onto to the Light and she was now hiding because there was no one left to prove she truly had been working for the Order. Dumbledore was dead and no one would ever believe Narcissa, the wife of a Death Eater imprisoned in Azkaban. Hermione sighed. Ginny had told her how deranged Bellatrix had appeared. "But she was mad..."

"She was mad over losing you" Narcissa answered softly. She brushed her slim fingers through her wavy blonde hair and took a deep breath. Her eyes were fixed on Hermione. It was terrifying to see the girl had changed nothing at all from the image in her head. The young woman her sister had fallen in love with. And Hermione claimed she still loved Bellatrix. Even now. "And I said she _was_ a spy, Hermione. Or Madam Black or whatever I should call you. A dark day came when she did sell her soul. I do not remember when it was. The battle had been endless. And I think she just gave up hope. But she never sold her heart. She had already lost that to you"

Tears seeped through Hermione's eyelashes. Confusion had crept into her chest. She had made herself believe the world would be clear and simple when she returned. She had been so wrong. She was more lost now than ever before. How much of the Bellatrix she knew before her travels – the maniac and deranged Death Eater- had survived into this present day? And how much of the young woman she had met, loved and married, was left? And what part of Bellatrix didn't she know at all?

"Where is she now?" Hermione's teary hazel eyes looked up to Narcissa. Her words could only be described as a desperate plea. She was begging Narcissa for answers. "No matter how right or wrong... she is my wife"

It sounded strange to even say it. Bellatrix was her wife. They were married. It felt right and wrong at the same time. She was almost nineteen. Bellatrix was by now 47. Everything about this seemed wrong yet it felt right. Their hands had fitted together so perfectly. The diamond beat together like a single heart. Hermione remembered the raven haired girl pointing out the constellations when they were lying on their backs in the grass, staring up to the star riddled sky. She would giggle and smile and then reach for her hand. She missed those moments. She missed being with Bellatrix. But she knew that at the same time, everything had changed because of them. Because of what they had done.

"Narcissa, you know where she is. I know you do. She wouldn't tell anybody else but you. I told her to keep her sisters close. And she may have lost Andromeda but I know she held on to you" Hermione whispered desperatly. Her words made Narcissa flinch. Silent tears rolled down Hermione's cheeks. "She would have told you"

"South Wales" Narcissa answered unexpectedly. She barely recognized her own voice. Her eyes caught Hermione's. "She is in Wales. She is hiding somewhere in the mountains. She never quite told me where. Just enough for me to find her if I let her know I am coming" She looked at Hermione. Her eyes searched the younger woman's face. "Why are you so desperate to find her now?"

Hermione cried silent tear and shook her head. "I have to do this, Narcissa. I have to divorce her. Break the union. For both our sakes"

She loved her. She loved her in the past. She remembered her then. She remembered the seventh year Slytherin with the raven curls and the shy little smile. The one who would take her hand in the courtyard or crawl into her bed in the middle of the night. The woman she was now Hermione didn't know. She didn't even know who she had become. How could she still love her? She loved her. She always would. But everything was different. Bellatrix had lost 30 years and had gained memories that tormented her every single day. Thirty years worth of memories and thoughts. Hermione had lost nothing.

"You can't" Narcissa stood up and walked from her chair to Hermione's. For a moment it looked like she was going to drop down before her but she remained standing. "You can't do this, Hermione. Bellatrix... She needs you. She needs you to hold on. You can't!"

"I have to" Hermione whispered and tried to look away. Narcissa wouldn't let her. She firmly held Hermione's gaze.

Narcissa fought back her own tears. She had witnessed her sister fall deeper and deeper into her own darkness. She had watched how she lost herself in desperation over her lost lover. "It will destroy her"

Hermione shook her head and brushed the tears from her cheeks. It was too late for destruction. There was little left to be broken. "Narcissa, it already has"

Narcissa turned away and stared into the fire. When Hermione had arrived here tonight she had been shocked to see her. It was as if a memory had come back to live. She sighed. The flames were eating away at the heavy logs and the warmth filled the room. Through an open window a soft gust of wind found its way into the room. The curtains briefly stirred but then hung still once more. "Holding on to you and your love was what kept her believing"

Hermione left her chair and walked across the drawing room to the open window. The gardens of Malfoy Manor were beautiful and all the flowers were in blood. An ocean of colours greeted her and she could hear the faint sound of water streaming from a fountain. She wrapped her arms around herself and whished the pain in her heart would go away. "I am not the one Bellatrix married, Narcissa. She married a dream. A ghost from her past. I never really existed"

"You did to her. That ring proves it" Narcissa approached Hermione and took her hand. The golden ring still glistened around her finger. The black diamond seemed pale and Hermione could not remember when she had last felt the tender beating. Narcissa's slim, ivory fingers traced the ring and then she averted her eyes. "You cannot divorce my sister"

Hermione felt broken. The world outside seemed so unreal. Nobody knew what had happened back in 1969. There was only her, Minerva McGonagall and Narcissa Malfoy. The world she knew had fallen apart. Ron was dead. Ginny had lost a brother, regardless of which one. She had tried not to imagine his pale, lifeless face and his empty eyes. Harry had lost his best friend. She had lost her friend. And she had lost her lover. And she had no idea where to go from here or what to do. It was a dream.

She looked at Narcissa. Once again tears began to drip down her cheeks. Narcissa let go of her hand and watched how the tears trickled down Hermione's skin. "My God, what have I done?"

* * *

Hermione returned to Hogwarts before the majority of students arrived back from Hogsmeade. The corridors were empty, apart from the occasional ghost. She found the quietness of the common room a welcome retreat and drew up one of the chairs by the fire and curled herself up. Her mind was spinning with everything she had learned from Narcissa. If anybody would even suspect she had gone to see her she knew she would be in trouble. Hermione had only been sitting like this for ten minutes when she heard the portrait swing aside and she curiously looked over her shoulder to see who entered the common room. To her surprise, and slight dismay, it was Minerva.

"Miss Granger" Minerva said in her familiar Scottish lilt and without asking she too drew up a chair and sat down "I couldn't help but notice you decided not to join your classmates in Hogsmeade"

Hermione sighed and made sure to avoid those piercing green eyes. "I... I didn't quite feel like going in the end, Professor. I am not great company at the moment and I didn't want to spoil it for anybody else. Ginny had been looking forward to it for days"

Minerva nodded and glared at the fire for a moment. She knew the reason for Hermione's depressed state. "Bellatrix?"

Hermione sighed. "Professor, I really don't want to talk about it" She looked up. "Do you go around talking to every student whenever they suffer from a broken heart? Because that is exactly how this feels. A broken heart that has been shattered in so many pieces I don't know if it can ever be fixed. So unless you know some kind of spell or charm that can make all of that go away, I just wish for everybody to just leave me alone"

Minerva admitted her defeat and stood up. She respected the fact Hermione wanted to be alone. She started back across the room but turned before climbing through the portrait hole."Hermione, you need to understand that it would be most unwise for you to start looking for Bellatrix. You don't know who she is now. You have no idea what she has become"

Hermione's hazel eyes snapped up and her nails dug into the armrest of her chair. Anger flickered behind her eyes and she clenched her teeth. "And you do, Professor?" she violently sneered "Because up till the moment I returned you too had no idea how much everything had changed. And maybe Bella didn't turn out to be what you think she is"

Minerva wanted to say something in return but decided it was better not to. She shot one final worried glance at Hermione, who had turned back to the fire, and then climbed back through the portrait hole. Hermione closed her eyes and rested her head against the chair. She was tired and she could not remember the last time she had felt so confused. She was desperate for answers. She needed to know. She could not just stay where she was and never learn the truth.

* * *

The cottage lay deeply hidden in the thick Welsh forests. Inside it was untidy. A thick layer of dust covered the cupboards, the chest of drawers and the large wooden table in the middle of the room. It was cold. There was no electricity, no running water and no heating. The wallpaper was peeling down the walls and a stale stench of mould lingered around the cottage. One of the back windows had been broken and badly mended with just a wooden plank. Splinters of glass still lay untouched in the window sill. Some of the curtains had been ripped and as the wind blew through the broken window they looked strangely macabre against the glass. The clock on the wall had stopped ticking and was forever frozen on seventeen minutes past twelve. The room was covered in darkness. The furniture almost looked ancient and gave the room an even drearier appearance. A few candle stumps lay scattered around the room. A silent reminder that someone had been living in this dark hole.

She shuffled through the darkness, carefully avoiding the furniture in the room. Her appearance was so dark and dusty that she easily blended in with her unkempt surroundings. Unruly black curls fell down the sides of her gaunt, ivory coloured face. Bony white fingers clutched a wand; the tip was lit and cast a weak beam of light around the room. She babbled softly against herself.

But her memories were vivid. And even though nobody else quite believed them to be true, she knew them to be real. Her dark orbs looked down at her hands and in the silver beam of light the golden ring around her finger lit up. The diamond in its core had been beating softly, a feeling that had sparked the sense of hope she thought she'd lost.

And then she smiled to herself."Hermione, my love. I promised to be waiting"

* * *

February faded into March and the final cold spells of winter were replaced by the flowering buds of spring. From behind the clouds the sun came peering out and occasionally warmed the world with its tender rays. It was early morning and the sun had barely risen over the horizon.

"Hermione?"

She opened her eyes and found Ginny standing beside her bed. She blinked a few times and then realized Ginny was fully dressed. She frowned. Ginny was not normally the most eager person to get out of bed in the morning and judging from the light falling into the room it was still early.

"Whatisit Gin?" Hermione groaned as she tried to pull the covers back over her head. It was Saturday and she had no intentions of getting up just yet. Or getting up at all. She had even overcome some of her pride and had accepted the Hogwarts house elves delivering food to her dormitory when she spend her whole day in bed.

"Harry and I are going into London today, remember?" Ginny asked. Her voice betrayed her excitement and slowly Ginny's story from the previous night returned to Hermione. Harry and Ginny were still together in this timeline and had decided to move into 12 Grimmauld Place. Since Sirius had been Harry's godfather the house was passed onto Harry when he died. And now that the war was over, he could do with it as he pleased. And only recently had he decided he wanted to live in it. But the house needed a lot of work doing and they would start today.

"McGonagall said it is all right if you want to come and help. We can use her Floo Network. The one in Grimmauld Place has been connected" Ginny said and now climbed onto the bed and began tugging at the sheets. Hermione desperatly tried to hold on to her duvet but Ginny pulled it away anyway. "Oh come on Mione, I'd really appreciate it if you'd come down and help us"

Hermione sighed and then slipped out of bed. She turned to Ginny. "Ten minutes, OK? I just need to get dressed and then I'll see you down in the common room"

Ginny left and Hermione quickly got dressed in a pair of old jeans and an old T-shirt. She tied her hair back in a loose ponytail and then quickly went downstairs to join Ginny. Her friend was eagerly waiting and almost launched herself through the portrait hole. Hermione grinned to herself. She had come to appreciate the simple things her friends went through. Doing up a house, finishing their homework and complaining about their classes. Life had returned to normal, or so it felt to everybody else. It all seemed so simple compared to her own struggles. It had been several weeks since she saw Narcissa Malfoy. She had been unable to sneak out of the castle since. Minerva's watching eyes were everywhere. Whatever plans she had to go see Narcissa again and learn where in Wales Bellatrix was staying, she had been unable to put them into practice. Minerva was watching her every day.

Hermione followed Ginny through the portrait hole and together they made their way to McGonagall's office. She was waiting for them and barely looked up from her paperwork when they walked in. The flames in her fireplace already roared green. She peered over her glasses, her eyes fixed on Hermione. "Have a good day, Miss Granger, Miss Weasley"

They used the Floo Network and seconds later they arrived at Grimmauld Place. Stepping out of the marble fireplace Hermione found herself standing in the familiar living room. Memories instantly flooded back into her mind. The meetings with the Order and the weeks she lived here before the start of her fifth year. The times she spent here when she had been travelling with Ron and Harry. She froze for a moment as Ginny charged straight out of the living room door and into the kitchen.

There was very little left of the Grimmauld Place she remembered. Dust covered every surface and there was a stench that could best be described as a room that had no fresh air for several years. The windows were covered in a thin, grey layer of grease. The curtains seemed to be moving and Hermione wondered whether they were once again filled with Doxy's. Even though it was morning the room was only dimly lit. Because of the grease the sunlight couldn't fall into the room. Hermione looked down. The floor was made out of hardwood and she had always loved it. She hoped Ginny and Harry would keep it.

"Hermione?" It was Harry's voice calling from the kitchen and Hermione quickly hurried down the hall and into the large kitchen. Harry was standing by the cooker, clearly making tea. When she appeared in the doorway he truned around and Hermione quickly ran towards him and swung her arms around his neck. Harry eagerly answered her hug and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I am so glad to see you" Harry said as he pressed Hermione a bit tighter against his chest "When Ginny told me what happened... We were all quite worried. But you made it back in once piece"

Hermione let go of her best friend and looked at him. Harry had started his Auror training but now on his own. There was no Ron to keep him company. His green eyes looked more alive than she had ever seen them and he looked healthy and well. She smirked and patted him on the arm. "I suppose I just couldn't give up the adventures"

Ginny was bouncing with enthusiasm. "Where do we start?"

Hermione glanced at her and grinned. "I hope you brought the Doxycide"

* * *

They worked downstairs for the first part of the day. Hermione had taken on the living room and the dining room whereas Harry and Ginny were clearing out the kitchen. Hermione used a simple cleaning spell to remove the grease from the windows and once the glass was clean the bright sunlight fell into the room. The wooden floor looked even better now. Another few flicks from her wand cleared away the dust. There were advantages to doing cleaning when in possession of a wand. She had reduced all the furniture to pocket size and left them in the corner of the room. Now that the living room was as good as empty the size of it really became clear. The Victorian ceiling was breathtaking and once in awhile Hermione looked up to just stare at the beautiful ceiling roses.

They had lunch in the living room, seated on the floor. After that they climbed the stairs to the second floor and they all took on a different room. Another half an hour past before suddenly Harry's voice cut through the silence. "HERMIONE!"

She froze. She knew that tone of voice. Hermione left her room, walked across the landing and entered the room in which Harry had been working. Ginny was there too. She was standing by the wall and Hermione immediately realized in which room they were. The Black tapestry still looked as ancient and ornate as ever. It didn't seem to have faded over the last few years. Ginny was standing right by it but Harry was standing in the middle of the room.

Fear crept into her heart. She glanced at the tapestry. Ginny was still inspecting it. "No..."

Harry's eyes were flickering dangerously behind his glasses. Mere seconds ago he had been standing at Ginny's side but now that Hermione entered his were fixed on her. Only then did Hermione notice he had drawn his wand. Her eyes widened and she took a step back. "Harry..."

"YOU MARRIED HER!" Harry shouted. His hand was shaking and Hermione feared that in his anger a spell would erupt. She slipped her hand in her pocket but realized she had left her wand in the other room. She was defenceless. "You married Bellatrix Black!"

Hermione shook her head. "You don't understand..." she said as tears began to well up in her eyes. Harry walked towards her with his wand still aimed at her in a threatening way. Hermione took a few steps back until her back collided with the wall behind her. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Harry looked beside himself with anger. "Harry, please listen to me..."

"Get out!" Harry hissed through his clenched teeth "Get your stuff and get the hell out of my house! Just get out! Traitor!"

He left the room and Hermione heard him run down the stairs. Her eyes shot across the room and found Ginny as she turned away from the tapestry. Their eyes met across the room and Ginny shook her head. Without saying a word she followed Harry out of the room and down the stairs. Hermione dropped to the floor. Tears were streaming down her face. She covered her face in her hands and cried like she had not cried before. It felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest.

Minutes past and then, eventually, she looked up. She staggered to her feet and walked across the room. She knelt down in front of the tapestry and her eyes were instantly drawn to the spot that carried Bellatrix's name. She remembered how it had once been linked to Rodolphus Lestrange with gold embroidery. Now, it was not Rodolphus' name on the tapestry. There was now a golden line connecting Bellatrix Black to Hermione Granger. Neither of them had been blasted off the tapestry. Perhaps because the general believe was that she had been a pure blood. But here it was. The reminder of her union with Bellatrix.

Hermione turned away from the tapestry, ran into the next room to collect her wand and by the time she made it down the stairs Harry had already thrown her bag into the hall. It rested against the front door. He and Ginny were lingering in the living room and both looked up when Hermione came down stairs. She met Harry's eyes and opened her mouth to say something but Harry cut her off.

"Whatever reason you have, I don't want to hear it. Just get out" he said and Hermione averted her eyes. She picked up her bag, opened the front door and stepped outside into the sunshine. When the door closed behind her she felt lonelier than she had ever felt before. She hurried down the path leading down to the road and then, after making sure no one saw her, she Disapparated.


	9. Desires Of The Soul

_We come to love not by __finding__ a perfect person,  
but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly__  
~Sam Keene~_

* * *

Hermione Apparated just outside the gates of Hogwarts. They swung aside and she began running up the path leading to the castle. It had been the first place that popped up in her mind, just before Malfoy Manor. But she doubted Narcissa could help her with any of this, apart from taking her to Bellatrix. And she knew she had to see her. She had to find her. But first she had to see Minerva. Tears were streaming down her face and with every step her body hurt more. She was tired. Her heart was pounding insanely fast against her ribcage and it felt as if her lungs were going to explode.

She ran straight to Minerva's office and knocked the door. Every part of her body hurt. She was panting and fine beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead. She held herself up by clinging on to the doorframe and when the door opened she looked up, straight into Minerva's green eyes. Tears were still trickling down her cheeks.

"Hermione, what happened?" Minerva asked when she found Hermione's distraught figure standing outside her door. She carefully took the younger witch by her arm and led her inside. She made a mug of tea appear out of nowhere and handed it to Hermione. She thankfully took it but did not drink it. Minerva sat down in the other arm chair by the fireplace and searched Hermione's face.

"Harry knows" Hermione stuttered and brushed her tears away. She looked at her Head Mistress. Minerva's green eyes widened behind her glasses. "About Bellatrix. About our marriage..."

"But how..." Minerva began, her hand now resting on Hermione's arm "Surely you did not confide in him?"

Hermione shook her head and took a few breaths to control her racing heart. "No. We were working in Grimmauld Place. And there is a tapestry in one of the bedrooms. It is the Black family tree. And... And... Harry was cleaning that room and he must have seen my name on there. I never thought it would. But it is there. Connected to Bella's"

Minerva sat back in her chair. Defeat riddled her face and her mind began to add the pieces of the puzzle together. She was trying to find a solution and glanced at Hermione. "I know the tapestry, Hermione. And I assume Harry did not take very well to this news?"

Hermione shook her head and nervously played with her hands. "Not at all. He told me to get out of his house" She brushed her last tears away. "Professor, I don't know what to do. Harry and Ginny know. What if they tell other people? I don't want anyone to know what happened. Nobody will understand. I just wish none of this had ever happened"

"I will see to it Mister Potter will not share this knowledge any further. I will see to it that Miss Weasley also does not speak of it" Minerva said and now she leant in. She took Hermione's hand into her own and squeezed it. "Hermione, this can't go on..."

"I know, Professor. And as much as you have been trying to tell me differently, whatever this is it can only be resolved if I find Bellatrix. Whether it is to continue what we had or to break the magical union between us... I can't do anything unless I find her" Hermione spoke desperatly "Surely you must understand that?"

Minerva sighed. "The thought crossed my mind, yes. And as much as I hate to admit it, it would appear that finding Bellatrix is the only way to turn this around. Since you have appeared on the Black tapestry I think it is safe to assume your last name would be recognised as Black as well"

"Does it matter?" Hermione sighed and shook her head. Finding Bellatrix now mattered more than anything. She wanted to find her. She wanted to feel complete. She wanted to feel the diamond in her ring beat in unison with Bellatrix's. She loved her still. "Professor, I know where she is. Well, sort of anyway. I have learned she is living somewhere in Wales" She stood up and looked down at the older witch. "I am asking your permission to leave Hogwarts and find Bellatrix"

"There is little I can do to stop you, Hermione. You are an adult and I see the importance of your quest" Minerva's eyes glistened behind her glasses and she looked at Hermione. "Permission granted. When will you be leaving?"

Hermione was already half way out of the door. Malfoy Manor was the place she had to go to and she couldn't waste another minute. "Tonight"

* * *

She had packed a small rug sack, changed her clothes and bound her hair in a loose ponytail. She had quickly dropped by Minerva's office, hesitant to knock. In the end she had turned around and walked away. The corridors felt foreign and strange. Students were making their way to and from the Great Hall. Some were laughing, others were quiet. One or two had sat down on the benches and were reading their schoolbooks. It looked like an ordinary school night but the truth was there was nothing ordinary about it at all.

Hermione saw Ginny leave the Great Hall just as she was about to leave the castle. She held still in the open door, her heart skipping a beat. Their eyes met across the distance of the room and Hermione would swear she could see sadness flicker in Ginny's amber eyes. It Ginny who looked away first and the heavy feeling in Hermione's chest only grew. She left the castle and stepped out into the grounds. Now that the sun had set and the sky was dark it had cooled down. The trees looked like dark, scary shadows against the darkening sky.

She made her way across the grounds until she reached the large metal gates. They silently swung aside and she left behind the safe grounds o Hogwarts. The gates closed behind her and Hermione shivered for a moment. She was alone now. And nobody else could help her. She closed her eyes, called up the image of Malfoy Manor in her head and turned on the spot.

Mere seconds later she reappeared at the end of the drive leading up to the magnificent Manor. It appeared to glow in the silver moonlight. Hermione took a few deep breaths and then made her way along the drive up to the front door. The gravel snapped under her feet and she confidently knocked on the front door. The wooden door swung open without anyone standing behind it and Hermione stepped into the large entrance hall. There was a sweet fragrance penetrating her nose as she made her way further inside.

"Hermione?" It was Narcissa's clear voice calling from the marble staircase. She was about half way down and curiously looked at the young brunette. She then hurried down the stairs until she reached her. Cerulean eyes caught Hermione's. "What are you doing here?"

"My friends have found out about me and Bella" Hermione quickly explained and the look in Narcissa's eyes changed from curiosity to fear "The Black tapestry in Grimmauld Place... it has my name on it. Harry now owns the house and they saw it. And now..." She didn't finish her sentence. Narcissa understood full well what had happened next. "Narcissa, I _need _to find her. Now more than ever!"

Narcissa seemed to contemplate for a moment. But then she slowly nodded. "Very well. I shall take you to her" She summoned her travelling cloak with a tiny flick from her wand and put it on. She pulled up her hood so her blonde hair was completely obscured and glanced at Hermione. "Like I said before, I do not exactly know where she is but I know enough to come close. I will give her a sign and she will come to meet me"

She extended her hand and Hermione took it. Narcissa's hand felt strangely cold in her own. Then Narcissa turned on the spot and with a firm jerking motion Hermione Apparated along with her.

They reappeared in a forest. It took Hermione a few seconds to orientate herself. Narcissa almost instantly let go of her hand. Hermione looked around. The thick leaves blocked most of the moonlight from falling through but between the trees she spotted a small little lake. The water sparkled in the pale beams of light. The location felt desolate. No one ever came here. They were miles from the nearest house. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, like a silent whisper Hermione could not understand. That same gust of wind now whipped through her hair and Hermione turned to look at Narcissa. She had lowered her hood and seemed to be walking around, looking for something.

Only then did Hermione notice there was a small, narrow path leading through the trees. She quickly increased her pace to catch up with Narcissa and the blonde witch froze. "I will have to give her a sign. She does not expect my arrival"

She aimed her wand at the sky and from its tip shot a rain of white stars. They dissolved when they reached above the trees and then it looked like the ink black sky was riddled with shooting stars. Hermione felt herself gasp and the sudden urge to make a wish overwhelmed her. Beside her, Narcissa lowered her wand and turned to look at Hermione. "And now we wait"

It did not take long for an answer to come. Somewhere in the distance a similar rain of shooting stars appeared and Narcissa's lips curled up into a smile. "She knows I am here. She'll come to meet us soon" She took Hermione's hand. "It is best I do not wait here with you. Whatever it is that needs resolving, it only concerns you and Bellatrix" She gently squeezed Hermione's hand. "I admire your devotion and your courage"

"At least one of us does" Hermione answered in return and then she weakly smiled. "Thank you for your help, Narcissa. I know you do not owe me anything"

"Oh but I do. As much as the timelines are confusing, I have you to thank for my husband being in prison. I never did quite agree with his acquittal" Narcissa really laughed for the first time since their first meeting "If you ever need a place to say, since your friends do not acknowledge your marriage to my sister, please know there is always a vacant room at the Manor"

Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Narcissa"

And then the blonde witch turned on the spot and left Hermione alone in the forest. Her hazel eyes swept across her surroundings. There was a clearing not far ahead, just beside the lake. The water glistened and Hermione found herself overwhelmed by the natural beauty that surrounded her. She spun around when a branch snapped behind her. She narrowed her eyes when she thought she saw a shadow move between the trees.

"Bella?" she called. Her voice echoed through the woods.

From between the trees a dark figure appeared. Slowly and apprehensive at first, almost reluctant to step into the pale light of the moon. Hermione felt her heartbeat increase. The dark figure was unmistakably Bellatrix. Her raven coloured curls fell wildly down her shoulders and back and she instantly recognised the dark eyes. But it was the gaunt and empty expression on her face that terrified her. Gone was the smiling young woman she had known. Her ivory skin was even paler now and the pink blushes on her cheeks had faded. Her eyes had sunk deeper into her skull, giving her a hollow and empty expression.

"Hermione" Her voice had changed very little and it made Hermione's heart flutter in her chest. Suddenly she felt warm. Much like she had felt whenever Bellatrix had wrapped her arms around her in the dormitory or the courtyard or when she had taken her hand by surprise.

"Bella" Hermione smiled and took a few steps in the other woman's direction. She had changed so much. And yet she immediately recognised the young woman she had fallen in love with. She was still there. She took Bellatrix's hands into her own and rubbed the palms of her hand. The older witch flinched under the touch and Hermione wondered how long it had been since anyone had shown her any kindness.

"I knew you were real" Bellatrix muttered as she looked at Hermione. Somewhere beyond her eyes a light ignited, bringing back that flicker Hermione had come to love so much. The rings around their fingers became warmer, leaving their fingers glowing, and the black diamonds were beating firmly in unison. The destined lovers had been reunited once more. "And I knew I'd see you again. I always waited for you, my love"

"Ssssh" Hermione whispered softly. Her heart cried out in her chest. She let hand slip up the side of Bellatrix's cheek and tenderly brushed a curl behind her ear "This is all so strange and yet it feels so normal. I... I can't believe all of this has happened"

Bellatrix looked at Hermione. Everything fell back in place. Here before her stood the young woman she had met when she was only seventeen. The one she had fallen in love with, the one she had married even though she knew she never could. The timelines had changed because of their choices and now they were standing here. Together and facing each other again like they had done before. They were strangers and yet they knew each other better than anybody else ever could. Bellatrix cocked an eyebrow and a smile broke through on her ruby lips. "You haven't changed a bit"

"You have" Hermione joked, still stroking Bellatrix's cheek. She looked exactly like the deranged Death Eater she remembered. The unruly black curls, the intense dark eyes and the gaunt expression. She was wearing one of her black velvet dresses with a leather corset and what appeared to be knee length leather boots. She was in every way the woman she had remembered. Apart from her personality. This was the not the Bellatrix that had tortured her. This was the Bellatrix nobody knew. Because with their marriage she had created her.

Unexpectedly, Bellatrix's lips captured Hermione's. Hungrily, passionately. Hazel eyes fluttered shut almost instantly and she slipped her arms around the older woman's waist. Bellatrix's lips still felt the same. They still tasted the same. Hermione groaned into the kiss when she felt Bellatrix's fingers clime up her back and then tangle in her hair. She had missed her more than she had even thought before. But now that she held her, she didn't want to let her go. All the thoughts about the divorce were gone. She didn't want to lose her.

When they eventually broke away they were both panting slightly. Hermione grinned and grasped Bellatrix's hand. "There is so much to talk about. Come back to the Manor with me. Your sister is waiting. We can talk there"

Bellatrix seemed hesitant. Her dark eyes caught Hermione. "Are... are you sure? Are you sure you want to stay with me?"

Hermione nodded and squeezed Bella's hand. "Definitely. I lost you once. I am not losing you again"

* * *

Narcissa had anxiously been pacing around the drawing room but when she heard the knock on the front door she had hurried into the large entrance hall and opened it herself. Hermione was standing outside, with Bellatrix closely behind her. Azure eyes widened at the unexpected sight and she stepped aside to let them in. She instantly noticed Hermione and Bellatrix were holding hands and a little smile broke through on her face.

"Cissy" Bellatrix whispered when they had entered the house and Narcissa had closed the door. She let go of Hermione and Narcissa welcomed her sister into her arms. Hermione watched as the contrast between light and dark became so much more obvious. Bellatrix's black curls mixed with Narcissa's blonde hair and her black dress was exactly the opposite from Narcissa's cream coloured robes.

When the two sisters let go of each other both sets of eyes fell on Hermione. Narcissa was the first to speak and she made a gesture towards the drawing room. "Come. There is a lot to talk about"

Several minutes later they were all sitting around the fire. The flames were lazily eating away at the large logs and the room was filled with a warm, orange gloom. Narcissa had ordered one of the house elves to bring her a bottle of wine and three glasses and now the three of them sat in silence, each holding a crystal glass containing dark red wine.

"Where do we start?" Bellatrix questioned weakly and looked from Narcissa to Hermione and back.

Hermione put down her glass. "At the beginning. When I was sent back in time because of the Time Turner, I had no idea how much the timeline would change. And when I met you, I acted upon my feelings rather than ignoring them. And I do not think that what we shared would have altered the timeline as much. Not until the moment I married you" She played with the golden ring around her finger. "That moment changed everything. It stopped you from marrying Rodolphus and a lot of other events never took place. And events that had not taken place before I left, had taken place when I returned"

Bellatrix slightly frowned as she sipped from her wine. "What happened when you returned?"

Hermione sighed. In theory it had been mere weeks since she had come back but for Bellatrix it concerned a lifetime of memories. And that's where the things got complicated. Things that had only recently changed had changed a long time ago for Bellatrix. The paradox between them was enormous. "McGonagall almost instantly realised I had changed the timeline drastically. When she saw the ring around my finger she wanted to know whom I had married. When I told her it was you she said something like it was not valid unless the ceremony had been performed. When she realized that it had, and our marriage was legal, she began to understand what had happened"

Narcissa carefully listened. The world had never seemed like a stranger place. One morning she had woken up with her husband missing from her marital bed and memories that told her it had been like this from the day the war ended. Yet she still had vague, distant memories of Lucius being around. It had felt like an odd dream. Images she could not quite place or forget. But she had quickly learned nobody else around her felt this way so she had just learned to accept that sometimes these strange images crept into her head. That was, until she saw Hermione stand outside her door looking for Bellatrix.

"She told me things had changed. And then, when Ginny came to see me, I began to fully realize what had happened. When I left, it had been her brother Fred who died in the Battle of Hogwarts, But now... Ron is dead. One of my best friends. And Tonks, she is still alive. She was dead before" Hermione looked at Bellatrix. "You were the one that should have killed her. My marriage to you saved her life"

Bellatrix's eyes widened and she put down her glass. Her hands were shaking. "I... I was supposed to have killed my sister's child?" she wearily asked and when Hermione nodded she shook her head. "I did some terrible things but I refrained from murder all this time. I have hurt people. Really hurt them. I had no choice. It was what expected of me. By the Order and by the Dark Lord. I could not be any different than the other Death Eaters in order for the Dark Lord to trust me"

"Tell me" Hermione whispered and fell down onto her knees before Bellatrix. She grasped her lover's hands into her own and looked up to meet her dark orbs. "Tell me everything"

"When I finished Hogwarts my parents wanted to marry me off to Rodolphus. The magical seal prevented them from doing so; after all I was already taken. They were furious. They wanted to disown me like they did with Andromeda. The night my Father threw me out of our home, I went to see McGonagall. I knew she'd be the only one who would understand. She allowed me to speak to Dumbledore. That night I joined the Order and the Death Eaters. The fact that I joined the Dark Lord earned me my Father's pride and he did not disown me" Bellatrix answered. She looked tired. For all this time she had lived a double life. Nothing about what she had done had felt right or true.

Hermione looked up to Bellatrix. She looked so fragile now. Some of the colour had returned to her cheeks and the light in her eyes had ignited once again. She looked so beautiful. She had changed so much and yet so little. The love in her heart had never died. She loved her still. She loved her now. She didn't want to let her go.

"Whilst siding with the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord, I passed valuable information on to the Order. Nobody knew what I was doing apart from Dumbledore. He knew, like me, that my life would be in danger if... _Voldemort_ would find out. I don't know when...I lost my soul. When I lost my ground and forgot what side I was on. Maybe it was easier just not to think about it. Maybe it was just easier to do all the bad things. It made me forget. In those moments I could not remember you"

Hermione flinched and felt tears burn behind her eyes. She glanced at her ring. It was her treasure. Her everything. Bellatrix's hurt and pain were genuine. She felt terribly guilty that her beloved had suffered for thirty years where she herself had suffered for just mere weeks.

"The night Dumbledore died however, I realised I had been wrong. I changed my allegiance back to the Order. Nobody knew who was providing them with their information. I know they tried to check but they never found out. During the Final Battle I did everything in my power to prevent Order members from getting killed. And that must be why Nymphadora Tonks survived..." Bellatrix hesitated. "And it is probably why your friend died, my love. I am so sorry"

Hermione shook her head. Bellatrix had little to be sorry for. All of this happened because of her and because of what she did. "The world is crazy, Bella. I don't even know what to think anymore. I can't begin to understand the events that have taken place and I can't look at my friends without wondering what it is I have done to them"

"The Potter boy..." Bellatrix started but Hermione shook her head.

"They know. The tapestry in Grimmauld Place connects your name to mine. They found out earlier today and want nothing else to do with me. How can I ever explain to them what happened? How do I ever tell Ginny that because I married you, her brother died?" Hermione covered her face in her hands and tears seeped through her eyelashes.

Bellatrix slipped out of her leather chair and fell down on her knees in front of Hermione. Carefully she lowered the younger witch's hands and she lifted up her chin. "I promised you I would be waiting and I did. These rings told us that we are meant to be together, regardless of timelines. Destined lovers cannot be separated by anything. There is no magic stronger than love"

Narcissa took a deep breath and cerulean eyes searched to meet Hermione's. "Many of the people today do not even realize things have changed, Hermione. How much does Miss Weasley know?"

"She said she has certain memories, or images, of Fred dying. She said it feels like a distant dream" Hermione answered and Narcissa nodded in agreement. Ginny's experience were similar to her own apart from the fact she had memories of herself as a teenager, knowing the young witch that was now sitting on her knees on the carpet. "So she does not quite remember and I doubt she has worked out things would have been different if it had not been for me"

Bellatrix turned Hermione's face so she could look at her. Both were still sitting on the carpet. She rested her forehead against Hermione's and Hermione could feel her warm breath against her skin. "The past cannot be changed. We will have to live with the effects of our choices for the remainder of her life"

Hermione nodded and her eyes fluttered shut. It felt wonderful to sit here with Bellatrix. To have her back, even if she barely recognised her.

"It has been a very long day" Narcissa whispered and she stood up from the sofa. Almost instantly the fire in the fireplace died and a thin plume of smoke evaporated into nothing. Hermione and Bellatrix both got back onto their feet, their hands safely joined. Narcissa looked at her sister and Hermione. To anybody else these three people in one room would look strangely odd, but to Hermione it felt perfect. "I suggest we all try and get some sleep and deal with the events in the morning"


	10. Nobody's Destiny

Hermione woke in a dark, unfamiliar room in a bed that felt like nothing like her own. The pillows and the sheets smelled of morning dew and lilies and she slowly opened her eyes. It was still dark outside though on the horizon the first rays of sunshine appeared. Suddenly she became aware of the body lying next to her and in the darkness she managed to trace the outlines of Bellatrix's face. Her raven coloured curls lay sprawled out over her pillow and her face was turned towards Hermione. The haunted expression that had been there mere hours ago was gone and she looked peaceful now that she was sleeping.

"It is very impolite to stare" murmured Bellatrix and her dark eyes opened.

Hermione grinned and brushed a curl out of Bellatrix's face. She still felt the same under her fingers. The lines of her jaw had not changed and her skin still felt as soft. "Sorry. Perhaps if you weren't so beautiful..."

Bellatrix pushed herself up and rested on her elbows. In a vague flash of memories Hermione remembered this being Bellatrix's favourite position to lie on a bed and talk. The corners of her lips curled up into a smile. Nothing about this felt strange. She looked at the dark haired witch beside her.

"I have not slept so well for... Merlin, I do not remember" Bellatrix weakly smiled and one of her hands searched for Hermione's. "I missed you"

"And I missed you" Hermione whispered in return. It was as if her presence had changed everything about Bella. Her face looked brighter and far less gaunt than last night. Even her curls seemed less unruly. In the darkness she could tell her dark orbs were glistening and she realised Bellatrix must have come back to live in some way now that they were together again. She could feel the soft beating of the diamond in her ring. Their hearts had been joined once again.

Slowly she leant in and let her lips capture Bella's. Willingly she let herself be pulled into the dark witch's arms until her body rested on top of Bellatrix. When they parted they were both panting slightly and their gazes locked. Hermione's heart was beating violently inside her chest. Emotions and long forgotten passion got the better of them and trembling hands slipped underneath nightshirts and trailed the soft and warm flesh that went hidden underneath. Hungry lips nipped and bit down as soft, passionate moans began to fill the room. Hands explored what they remembered and everything that was new. Through the gap in the curtains sunlight began to fall into the room, leaving it bathing in a tender gloom of yellow light...

* * *

Hermione rested her head on Bellatrix's chest and enjoyed the feeling of the older woman running her fingers through her hair. Their left hands lay united on top of the sheets, their rings glistening in the beams of sunlight falling into the room. They had felt each other again. They had remembered what they felt for each other and what it had been like to be truly together. Their bodies were mysteries and at the same time it had all been so familiar. Bellatrix's body had developed into that of a woman and was far less like that of the teenage girl she had come to love in the past. But still it all felt the same. She still had the star shaped mark just underneath her belly button and the scar at the back of her leg was still there too. She barely recognised her last night. Now she knew who she was.

"I don't ever want to give this up" Hermione whispered softly, though she understood full well what the consequences of that would be. "If we can survive through time we must have a chance..."

"I always believed we had a chance" Bellatrix answered as she planted a kiss somewhere in Hermione's hair. Her heart had eased down in her chest but only several minutes ago it had been racing in passion and love. Hermione still looked and felt like she remembered. She was nineteen now and everything about her was beautiful. There were little secrets left but still she managed to get to know her all over again.

There was a soft knock on their door and they instantly parted and wrapped themselves in bed sheets before Bellatrix called for the visitor to enter. Narcissa carefully stepped into the bedroom with an apologetic look in her eyes. "I'm sorry to interrupt but an owl arrived for Hermione. It carried the Hogwarts logo"

Hermione nodded and slipped out of bed and began looking around for her clothes. She had left them in a messy pile on a chair last night but they were now freshly washed and ironed. She suspected Narcissa's house elves had done it and she smiled to herself. "Ten minutes"

Narcissa nodded and her gaze caught Bellatrix's for a second before she smiled and left the room. Hermione began dressing herself and only when she turned around did she find Bellatrix looking at her from the bed. She was still draped in her bed sheets and her head rested in her hand. She looked beautiful and almost innocent in the morning sunlight. Hermione couldn't suppress a smile.

"I wonder how long that owl has been there" she grinned.

Bellatrix smiled too. "Probably over an hour. Cissy was perhaps too frightened to come in here and interrupt us"

"Your sister has been very kind to me, Bella. She was at first the only one truly willing to listen to me and she helped me find you. Minerva McGonagall rejected the idea first but not until Cissy had told me where you were hiding did she agree I should find you" Hermione said as she walked across the room towards the door "I think the owl will have been sent by her"

She left the bedroom, walked across the wide landing with interesting looking paintings and then down the marble staircase. She found Narcissa in the large dining room. It was a room she had never been in before and she had to stop herself from allowing her mouth to drop. The room was intensely bright and very large. The ceilings were high with Victorian roses. The wallpaper was a soft shade of cream and there was a chandelier similar to the one in the drawing room hanging over the heavy wooden dining table. And on that table, just beside a goblet of what Hermione suspected was pumpkin juice and the morning edition of the Daily Prophet sat a familiar looking owl. It was one of the Hogwarts owls.

"Good morning" Narcissa smiled as she looked up from her own paper. She brushed a string of hair behind her ear and then went on to apologise. "I am sorry I had to wake you but the bird began pecking my fingers"

Hermione spotted the bloody bite marks on Narcissa's thumb and smiled to herself as she approached the owl. Its yellow eyes followed her every move and Hermione suspected it had not allowed Narcissa to take the letter. It however willingly allowed her to take the parchment from its paw. Narcissa had been right. It carried the familiar red Hogwarts seal and she sat down in the chair opposite Narcissa's and absentmindedly picked up the goblet standing next to the paper. She broke the seal and unrolled the parchment. She immediately recognised the small, neat handwriting that belonged to Minerva McGonagall.

_Hermione,  
I sent this owl to find you as I am unsure where your exact whereabouts are. I have tried to contact Mr Potter but he has refused to return my owl. Miss Weasley also does not wish to speak with me so I advise you to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible. There is a gathering at the Burrow this weekend and it is my concern that Mr Potter might reveal your situation to all those present, including Bellatrix's sister Andromeda. As much as I am off the opinion people should know I do not believe it is in your best interest, nor that of Mr Potter, for it to be revealed in such a way.  
Hoping you are well and with kind regards and love,  
Minerva_

Hermione put the letter down and rested her face in her hands. She shook her ehad and felt anger roar in the pit of her stomach. In these few hours she had forgotten that Harry and Ginny knew about her marriage to Bellatrix but she had never thought they would betray her to her friends. Had she been so wrong about her friends that they would ruin everything she held dear? Would they really go that far?

"Hermione, what is wrong?" Narcissa had looked up again and found Hermione sitting with her face in her hands. She stood up and walked around the table. She sat down in the chair beside the young witch and cocked her head. She picked up the letter and read what Minerva had written. She sighed. "Life is not going to be easy for both of you. The world has an image of my sister, regardless of how wrong it may be. They will judge her before they know and they do not know her at all"

"I thought they were my friends" Hermione shook her head and sighed. Suddenly a thought crept into her head. The timelines had changed. What if one particular event hadn't? What if – somehow- the event that made Harry hate Bellatrix so much had not been altered at all? "She didn't kill Sirius did she?"

Narcissa sadly shook her head and sadness reflected in her cerulean eyes. Her voice was cold and for the first time Hermione sensed the hatred Narcissa hid so deeply inside. "Lucius killed my cousin"

Hermione felt her heart freeze in her chest. Bellatrix had not lied when she said she had never killed anybody. She had hurt so many, only because it had been expected of her. But how was she ever going to make Harry understand she was not the monster he believed her to be? How would she ever make him see that Bellatrix had worked for the Order almost all this time? How would she ever make him see, make him believe and let him understand that she truly loved her? And if she had to choose...

She shook her head. She didn't want to think about it. She took a deep breath. "I must return to Hogwarts. If there is such a thing as a fair chance for us then I need to speak to my friends. Only they can judge me and only when they know exactly what happened"

Narcissa looked at her. "I'm sorry, Hermione"

Hermione met the eyes of the woman who was her sister-in-law. She straightened her back and checked whether her wand was still in her pocket. "Regardless of what has happened or what will happen... I am not"

* * *

Hermione used the Floo Network to return to Hogwarts and she stepped out of the fireplace in Minerva McGonagall's office. It was still early and she was not surprised to find her mentor and friend sitting behind her desk. Her glasses were standing at the tip of her nose and she looked up when Hermione stepped into the room. Emerald green eyes instantly lit up.

"Hermione!" she said with a smile and she hurried around her desk. Hermione brushed the ashes of her clothes and look up to meet Minerva's eyes. "I was not expecting you back so soon"

"Best to get this over with" she spoke harshly and Minerva's face betrayed her surprise "I take it Ginny has gone home for the weekend then?" It was Friday morning – the one day where the seventh years only had classes in the afternoon- and she knew it was Mr Weasley's birthday this weekend. It was the reason for the gathering at The Burrow.

"Yes. She left by Floo Network this morning" Minerva answered and her eyes narrowed. She could barely contain her curiosity. "Did you... did you find her? Bellatrix?"

Hermione fell down in one of the armchair. The arrogance and confidence she had felt when she stepped out of the fireplace was rapidly subsiding and she felt defeated and worried all over again. She sighed. "I found her" she answered weakly.

"Oh" was all Minerva managed to say and she too sat down in one of the arm chairs. She was unsure how to approach this subject any further. Hermione had found her wife. A woman who – to many- was still a Death Eater. She tried to phrase her sentence carefully. "How... how is she?"

"She was a spy, Minerva. She worked for the Order almost all this time" Hermione suddenly started talking and the words just came out like a rushed waterfall. Minerva watched how tears welled up in Hermione's hazel eyes and felt a sense of pride and guilt wash over her.

"All those years ago... that night she came to see you and you allowed her to speak to Dumbledore was the night she made her allegiance to the Order. She joined the Death Eaters that same night, on Dumbledore's orders. It was the only thing that stopped her from being disowned because she had married me. She lived a double life from that night onwards"

"Oh Hermione, I didn't know. Albus never said..." Minerva began but Hermione shook her head.

"Why would you know? Dumbledore didn't say anything because only he understood the danger she was in. If the Order would learn about her she would be captured and placed into Azkaban, no doubt. If Voldermort learned of her allegiance to the Order, she would have been killed" Hermione sighed. She was so tired. She felt confused and torn up inside. Thoughts of Bellatrix's life mixed with the pressure of Harry and Ginny exposing her secret. Love mixed with anger and confusion and sadness and left her torn apart inside.

"One day she just... she lost her soul" Hermione continued and avoided making eye contact. "The darkness overwhelmed her. And she gave up. She gave up because of me. It was easier to drown in the darkness and just forget about what she felt..." She swallowed her tears. The consequences of their actions had influenced so many lives and she couldn't even begin to imagine, or allow herself to think about what she had done to all of her loved ones.

Hazel eyes looked up to meet Minerva's. "Do you remember how valuable information was passed to the Order after the night Dumbledore died?" Minerva nodded. "Bella had a change of her heart. It was her who provided you with that information. She realised she had been wrong. And she allowed her love for me to risk her life once again and help the Order. It is why you never learned who helped you. Nobody knew she had been one of us. Only Dumbledore knew. The secret died with him"

"It is true, Minerva" spoke a warm and calm voice from one of the portraits and both witches looked up. From his golden portrait frame the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore looked down on them. His blue eyes still sparkled behind his half moon spectacles. "Miss Granger is speaking the truth"

"Oh Albus" Minerva sighed and almost desperatly looked at her friend. "What are we going to do? The world does not know about Bellatrix Black and Mr Potter is fuelled by hatred..."

"The only thing that can save everything is the truth, no matter how painful" spoke Dumbledore kindly and his eyes fixed on Hermione. "Your choices have severely influenced the timeline, Miss Granger. There is nothing that can be done to change that and many will always be unaware of what happened. Those who are will learn to live with their memories over time. What remains is for you to come to terms with your marriage and your friends to come to terms with you"

Hermione nodded and glanced at Minerva. "Are you coming to The Burrow, Minerva?"

Minerva smiled. "If you wish for me to accompany you, I shall"

Hermione sighed and twisted the golden ring around her finger. "Yes, somehow I doubt it is a good idea to arrive with my wife"

* * *

Hermione felt sick to her stomach when she stepped into the fireplace. Seconds before Minerva had dropped a hand full of Floo Powder into the roaring green flames and stated "The Burrow". Now it was her time. She took a few deep breaths, took a hand full of powder from the little box on the desk and stepped into the green flames. She closed her eyes and then spoke with a clear voice "The Burrow"

The world began to spin and the image of Minerva's office rapidly blurred and seconds later it was replaced by the familiar looking living room of the Weasley house. Hermione instantly recognised the excited voice of Mrs Weasley and hesitantly she stepped out of the fireplace. Her arrival went unnoticed for a few seconds and she used them to see who else was here. All the Weasley's were present. There was Ginny, Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie. Suddenly she was cruelly reminded of the absence of Ron. The sight of Fred made her heart freeze and the pain she felt inside overwhelmed her.

On the other side of the room Harry was talking to Nymphadora Tonks. She still had bright pink hair and Hermione realised there was not a sign of little Teddy. Clearly Lupin was not only dead, they had never had a child and she wondered if they had ever gotten together. Nymphadora's mother was sitting at the table. Andromeda looked a lot like Bellatrix, Hermione realised. Her hair was not as dark and her eyes were almost the same hazel shade as her own. It was strange to look at Tonks and Andromeda and realise they were her family now. And neither of them knew.

"Hermione!" Mrs Weasley suddenly cried and Hermione immediately noticed how Harry's head snapped in her direction. "Oh how wonderful to see you!"

She allowed herself to be pressed against Mrs Weasley's voluptuous chest then shook Mr Weasley's hand and wished him a happy birthday. She let herself be hugged by Fred, George, Bill and Charlie and promised the twins she would tell them about her time travel journeys. As she looked around the room she tried to take in as many changes as she could. She couldn't see Fleur but there was a wedding ring on Bill's hand so he had married someone... Seconds later however Fleur appeared from the kitchen and she realised that their marriage was one thing that had taken place.

"You have some nerve turning up here" somebody hissed in her ear when she was standing by the fireplace and was looking at all the interactions in the room. She didn't have to turn and look at who was standing next to her. She recognised Harry's voice immediately.

"I always admired your ability to immediately jump to conclusions without knowing the full details, Harry" she hissed back, covering her mouth with her goblet so it looked like she was drinking "Or your ability to stab your friends in the back because you are too blinded by your own unfounded hatred"

"Hermione, I was wondering whether I could have a word?" Andromeda had unexpectedly appeared at her other side and somehow she shot a glance at Harry that made him walk off. He joined Ginny and the pair of them shot her another dark look.

Hermione frowned. She had never really spoken Andromeda before – in her own time- and she wondered what the middle Black sister had to tell her. She only remembered the times they had been in the common room together. Before her time travelling she had never really met her. She nodded and followed Andromeda into the kitchen, which was now empty. Andromeda flicked her wand and the door closed and locked itself. She then glanced at Hermione. Now that they were standing quite close together the differences between her and Bellatrix were more obvious.

Without asking Andromeda reached for Hermione's left hand and turned it so she could look at the ring. Her touch was soft and there was no judgment in her voice. "You do realise I remember you?"

Hermione nodded. She hadn't realised. But Narcissa had remembered so Andromeda would too. "I... I hadn't quite..." She hesitated and suddenly gave in to the despair she felt inside. "Andy, where is this going to go?"

Andromeda let Hermione's hand slip from her own and leant against the kitchen top. "Contrary to certain beliefs I knew full well what my sister did throughout these years. And I no doubt that Narcissa knew too. The way Bellatrix handled her double life and the methods she used to pass on information were very typical for Bella. It had her childhood signature. Only something her sisters could see. I never quite believed she lost herself but when she stopped helping the Order I was afraid. But Bella is smart and the fact that she changed her allegiance back to the Order proves to me there is more good in her then people like to believe"

Hermione nodded and looked at Andromeda. She still remembered the fifth year with her nose stuck in a book. She reminded her of herself. "You knew all along about our marriage, didn't you? I mean... how could you not know... She married me before you even married Ted and was disowned"

"I knew all along. As did Narcissa and Minerva has explained to me that you went back in time and things changed. I personally cannot remember what it was like before you changed the future though Minerva has said that other people can. I am just blessed that I only know this and am not left wondering what if..."

"My marriage to Bella saved your daughter's life" Hermione said quickly and Andromeda's eyes widened. "She would have died in the Battle for Hogwarts otherwise. However, it may have saved her life but it also killed Ron Weasley. The Weasley's lost a son in the Battle. It is just that it changed which one of them died..."

The doorknob moved and it was clear somebody was trying to enter the kitchen. Andromeda shot a last glance at Hermione and flicked her wand. The door opened and the fiery red hair of Ginny appeared. She stared at Hermione and Andromeda standing in the kitchen and her brown eyes narrowed. "What's going on in here?"

"Nothing" Hermione answered quickly and didn't look at Andromeda. Andromeda at her time stared back at Ginny, taking a step in her direction as if to position herself between the two younger witches like protective barrier.

"Not cheating on your _wife_ with her sister are you?" Ginny snapped, a lot louder then she intended and behind Ginny several people turned around.

Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes and stepped past Andromeda. She felt Andromeda try and grab her wrist but she freed herself. She approached Ginny and stopped only mere inches from her face. Her voice was dangerously low and her eyes pierced into Ginny's. "I had expected better from you Ginevra Weasley"

"What on Earth is Ginny talking about?" Mrs Weasley asked and shot a questioning look at Ginny before turning to Minerva. "Married to whom? And what sister?"

"I am surprised Hermione didn't fill you all in on the happy news that she got married while she was thrown back in time" spoke Harry from the other side of the room and the gathered crowd turned in his direction.

Hermione's eyes desperatly searched for Minerva's and found them to her left. She shook her head and Minerva knew she meant she didn't want her to intervene. So she restrained herself and fixed her eyes on Harry.

"HARRY!" Andromeda spoke harshly from behind Hermione and she stepped aside to let her through. The fire in her eyes and the harsh tone of her voice reminded Hermione of both Bellatrix and Narcissa. The Black side in her now truly came out. "You are in no position to pass judgment on Hermione so I suggest you do what is wise and hold your tongue"

"Do what is wise? Surely wisdom was lost some time ago when Hermione decided to enter into a marriage that changed everything we once knew? Her marriage changed the future!" Harry said, causing Mrs Weasley to cover her mouth in shock. His green eyes were fixed on Hermione. Her face was emotionless and she just stared back at him. "Poor Hermione Granger... Or should I say Hermione Black? That is your name, isn't it?"

She knew he was angry. She could tell he was disgusted. The pain inside was overwhelming. She took a few deep breaths. "Harry, you have no idea... Things are not like they seem and you do not understand..."

Her words were useless. Harry's anger was evident in his voice. "It was because of her choice to get married that Ron was killed!"

Mrs Weasley spun around and looked at Hermione. Never before had she seen such devastation in the eyes of the woman she had once considered to be her second mother. "Is that true?

Hermione felt tears slip down her cheeks. She had no idea where they had come from. "Nothing is like it seems. None of you understand and Harry is passing judgment without knowing the truth. Ron died because of events that took place when I travelled back in time. However..." She bit her tongue and glanced at the Weasley's. She had promised herself she would never tell them this. "Regardless of what I did, one of your sons would have died, Mrs Weasley. The events of the past changed which one lost his life but..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

"So that makes it all right? One would have died anyway?" Harry shouted unexpectedly

"HARRY! NO! You will _not_ pass such judgement!" Minerva intervened and took a step forward. Emotions were filling the room. Mrs Weasley was silently crying, her husband's hand on her shoulder. Ginny's eyes were blazing. Harry looked like he was about to draw his wand and hex Hermione. Andromeda's hand rested on Hermione's arm in an attempt to keep her calm and near to her. Tonks looked from her mother to Hermione and then to Harry before walking to her mother's side. The twins, Bill and Charlie looked stunned and were simply staring at those present.

"Never mind, Minerva" Hermione said coldly and suddenly she felt strangely empty inside. These people were not the people she had known for all these years. Most of them were strangers. "Ignorance is one Harry's personality traits. Foolishness is another one"

Harry was about to say something in return but in that split second something snapped inside Hermione. "Had it not been for your constant craving for attention then none of this would ever have happened!" she screamed "Had you not wanted to be such a damn hero, nobody would have died at all!"

Silence. There was absolute silence as the harshness of her words began to sink in. Ginny's mouth had dropped. Never before had Hermione shouted the way she just had. Never before had anyone spoken to Harry like she had. And she had told him the truth. She panting and the tears still burned her skin. All this time Harry had not mentioned who she had married. The name Black could have belonged to many people. All of that was about to end now. There was almost a twisted look of triumph flickering in Harry's eyes.

"She married Bellatrix Black"

The words were like a dagger to the crowd's hearts. Minerva shook her head and Hermione watched the expression on Mrs Weasley's face change from sadness to disgust and anger. Hermione freed herself from Andromeda's protective grip and drew her wand before anyone could blink. She aimed it at Harry, her hand trembling. Around her several others drew their wands too. Only three were drawn in her aid. Minerva, Andromeda and Tonks were standing at her side. Tough Tonks knew nothing about the past she sided with her mother and Hermione. The little blood ties she had left.

"Damn you Harry Potter" Hermione hissed and shook her head. "I should have seen you for the ignorant, arrogant fool you really are. I have been around you long enough to know. For this has _nothing _to do with you. You know nothing about me or Bellatrix. You know nothing about the sacrifices she made to save _your_ life. She joined the Order from the very beginning. Had it not been for her, you would have lost the war a long time ago. You owe your_ life_ to her..."

She spun around and ran towards the front door. Seconds later she had disappeared into the ink black night, leaving behind the closest friends she ever had. Or she thought she had...

Everything had fallen apart.


	11. Path Of Time

She arrived back at the Manor with tears still streaming down her face. Instead of running into the house, she ran into the gardens that lay behind it and sat down by the fountain. She caught sight of her reflection in the water and smashed her hand into the water. Her reflection rippled and for a second or two completely faded.

"Hermione, aren't you supposed to be at..." Bellatrix's voice trailed off when she realised Hermione was crying. She hurried towards her lover and their hands linked as she sat down beside her. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

Hermione swallowed hard. She felt sick to her stomach and was shaking in anger and frustration. Tear filled hazel eyes looked up to meet the dark orbs of Bellatrix. "We... I... There was an argument"

From the open patio doors Narcissa emerged and she too walked towards Hermione. Bellatrix frowned. "What do you mean – an argument?"

"Harry accused me of being responsible for Ron's death because I married someone from the past" Hermione whispered and briskly brushed the tears from her cheek. She didn't want to cry because of Harry's arrogance. She was too angry to be sad. For the first time in the years she had known Harry Potter, she hated him. "And he told them... he told them I married you"

Narcissa made a sound like an angry cat and Bellatrix looked up to her younger sister. "Potter has been a fool. It would appear the trait has been passed along the family line..."

Bellatrix looked at Hermione. Their hands were still joined and the diamond cores of their rings were pleasantly beating together. She had gotten used to feeling it again. She felt whole once more. "How did this argument start anyway? Surely he did not just say it?"

"Andromeda came to speak to me. Telling me she knows and understands. I forgot she would remember too. When Ginny saw us together she made some harsh comment about me cheating on my wife with her sister. The others overheard the comment, just like she wanted them to, and things just went to hell from there" Hermione spoke angrily and her eyes flickered dangerously "I need a better taste in choosing my friends. I always ending up surrounding myself with those who merely disappoint me"

"Surely that does not go for all of us?"

Hermione, Bellatrix and Narcissa all looked up. The Scottish accent had been very familiar and Hermione's heart leapt up in her chest. Minerva McGonagall had appeared in the gardens. Her green eyes were fixed on Hermione, her lips curled up into a smile. She was accompanied by Andromeda and Nymphadora. A shy little smile lingered on Andromeda's lips now that she was faced with her sisters again. Tonks merely looked curious.

"Minerva..." Hermione sighed and stood up. Bellatrix's hand slipped out of her own and she could sense both Bellatrix and Narcissa suddenly became weary of the unexpected visitors. Both looked at their sister. "Of course that does not include you..." She hesitated. "What is the situation at The Burrow?"

"Harry is just being a total arse" Tonks answered sharply and briefly hugged Hermione. When she let go her eyes fixed on Bellatrix and Hermione and she seemed unsure how to act. Her loyalties lay with her family. The ones she had never known. "He should know better than to attack his friends"

Hermione shrugged at that last comment. The anger she had felt was still there but the sadness quickly faded. She knew Harry was an ignorant prat sometimes and she hadn't quite expected anything less from him any way. The more clever and sophisticated ones were standing around her now. "If he wants to be a lonely miserable git it will be the least of my worries"

There was a silence that lasted for several moments. All those present were lost in their own thoughts. After a few seconds Narcissa curiously eyed up her long lost sister. Andromeda looked well, she realised. The situation was calm and yet intense – leaving them all wondering whether perhaps there had been some part of destiny that brought them all here. The water from the fountain trickled down the grey sandstone. She caught Andromeda's eyes. "You haven't changed..."

"Neither have you, Cissy" Andromeda answered weakly and smiled. Never had she dared to believe she would meet her sister again. Nor would she ever have thought she would welcome her. Narcissa still looked very much like the teenage girl she had left behind when she left her parents' house. She could still remember the tears in her eyes as she begged her not to leave. A few words would not heal so many years lost but it would build a bridge that would lead to a whole new path. She glanced at Bellatrix. Sadness overwhelmed her. "Oh Bella... if I had known..."

"If any of us had known..." Minerva interrupted and reached out a hand to Bellatrix. It was a simple sign of forgiveness and understanding.

Bellatrix took and shook it, her lips now curling up into a smile. The last time she had shook Minerva McGonagall's hand was the night she had begged her to see the Head Master. "Don't blame me for not being in on the secret, Minerva. Blame the silly old coot that was Albus Dumbledore"

Minerva chuckled. "I shall deal with him when I return to Hogwarts"

Hermione sighed and allowed her hand to slip back into Bellatrix's. Bellatrix's fingers brushed against the palm of her hand. All of a sudden she felt tired. It was as if a spell had been lifted and everything just landed on top of her. Her eyes felt heavy and her body ached. "Perhaps we should go inside. There are things we need to talk about. Things that need to be said"

They made their way inside and Narcissa invited them into the dining room instead of the drawing room. House elf magic made their feet feel funny for a moment or two and almost out of nowhere several cups of steaming tea appeared, accompanied by a tray of cakes and biscuits. Hermione slipped in a seat beside Bellatrix, seeking her hand under the table. Minerva sat down at her other side. Narcissa, Andromeda and Tonks sat down across them. For several minutes they indulged themselves in the tea and biscuits before Hermione finally broke the silence.

"Who would ever have thought we would sit around a table like this..." she pointed out the unlikely gathering "I... I owe you all an apology"

"Don't be ridiculous" Bellatrix intervened and looked at her wife. "Hermione, none of this was your fault. I doubt there is anyone to blame"

"Bellatrix is right, Hermione" Minerva said softly "And Dumbledore was right. Nothing about this can be done undone and regardless of the hurt and confusion it has caused, I doubt any of us want to. Clearly there was a good reason why the destinies of so many people were changed. I for one would never have dared hoping to share a table with any of you present"

Narcissa nodded in agreement and caught Hermione's eyes across the table. "This will find its place, Hermione. The timeline is what it is today. From here onwards it is up to us to make out of it whatever we can. And that means that you and Bella will have to come to terms with your differences and the ways in which you are alike"

Hermione sighed. She knew both Narcissa and Minerva were right. She couldn't do anything else now. This was how things were. She was married to Bellatrix and as much as she had once desired a divorce, she knew it could not change anything. And she didn't want to leave her. She wanted to stay with her. They had once been so alike. Now they were so different but she still believed they had a future. She believed they had a chance.

"I owe my daughter's life to you" Andromeda whispered and reached over the table for Bellatrix's other hand. "Hermione told me that – before she changed the timelines- Nymphadora would have died in the Battle. I know you did not make this choice deliberately as it just was something you did, but to know that your love for someone else saved my daughter leaves me eternally grateful"

Bellatrix's eyes filled with tears. "We were raised to hate you, Andy. But nobody is ever raised to stop loving someone. I just forgot..."

Tonks looked from her mother to both her aunts. Narcissa was sitting beside her. Her lips curled up and she pulled a face as if she was thinking really hard. Her bubble gum pink spiky hair suddenly became curly and long, like that of her mother and Bellatrix but it was as blonde as Narcissa's. She chose a light shade of brown eyes and suddenly she looked like the missing link between the three of them. Bellatrix and Narcissa looked in amazement.

Hermione suddenly laughed. The stress fell away. She was still tired but she felt suddenly free. There was something honest and open about them all sitting around the table. It was the first time, but she knew it would not be the last. She could sense the others were relaxing too. "Somehow I think that someone will slap me if I ask you to do that pig snout again... it would only destroy the Black perfection"

The hours began to pass as they talked. The hands on the large clock on the wall moved, silently reminding them how the time past. There were so many years to catch up on. They sat and listened, they laughed and cried and they sometimes just fell silent to allow room for personal thoughts. The mugs of tea were replaced for goblets of pumpkin juice, mead and wine. The biscuits and pies disappeared and made room for a beautifully prepared roast diner. Their voices never died out for the rest of the night and Malfoy Manor was filled with true laughter for the first time. By the time the sun rose over the horizon they had all been up all night but none felt tired or the need to go to bed.

Dawn had broken several hours ago and the sun was shining brightly into the dining room. It had been Andromeda who had yawned first, followed by a bad attempt of Narcissa to suppress her own. However, it was obvious that tiredness had invaded the comfortable situation in the dining room and Minerva suggested it was time people would try and get some sleep.

"There are plenty of bedrooms to accommodate all of us" Narcissa insisted when Andromeda put on her cloak. She watched the look in her sister's eyes change. She weakly smiled as she remembered how she and Andromeda used to sneak into each other's bedroom and she would listen to Andromeda reading her stories. "It has been a long time since this house has known any happiness..." She didn't want them to leave. And so the various bedrooms in Malfoy Manor became occupied for the remainder of the day.

* * *

Hermione propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Bellatrix lying beside her. "It's strange, isn't it?"

Bellatrix looked up. She was so much older than she had been when she first fell in love with Hermione yet she still felt so young inside. She smiled. She had learned to smile again since Hermione came back to her. "Strange indeed..."

Hermione sighed. She hadn't slept since everybody retired to bed. Fifteen minutes ago she had heard Andromeda talk to Narcissa right outside their door but their voices had died out a few minutes ago. Bellatrix had been asleep. Hermione had spent her time watching her, thinking how much she loved her and how badly she hoped everything would turn out all right. Her hope was stronger than her fear. "You know, I don't need Harry"

"Do not make such decisions until you have had time to think" Bellatrix whispered and let her fingers run down Hermione's arm

"I do not need to think, Bella" Hermione whispered softly and snuggled herself down in Bellatrix's arms. She felt perfectly at ease here. It was where she belonged. She had somehow managed to bring a family back together and she had learned to see how some of her friends were ignorant and stupid. "Harry has made his choice. And therefore I have made mine"

They lay in silence for awhile as in other parts of the house people began to wake up. Narcissa and Andromeda had been the first ones to be awake and were already enjoying a walk through the gardens by the time Minerva made it down the marble staircase. She entertained herself reading one of the books in the extensive Malfoy library - a place where nobody ever used to come apart from Narcissa. Tonks was the next one to wake and joined her mother and aunt outside.

Hermione and Bella walked around the house, enjoying the sunlight falling through the windows and Bellatrix took Hermione into the music room. They sat in listened as Bellatrix had charmed the piano and let it play one beautiful ballad after the other. Hermione's head rested on Bellatrix's shoulder and her lips curled up into a little smile. She felt comfortable and at home. Being with Bellatrix left her feeling safe. She looked at their hands, lying joined in her lap. Their rings still glistened and sparkled. Their sacrifice had been worth it. They still had each other.

* * *

Andromeda, Nymphadora and Minerva stayed at Malfoy Manor for another three days, in which they spent many more hours talking but also quite a few hours going their own way. Tonks discovered her love for reading and became as much of a bookworm like Hermione, spending a lot of time in the library reading some of the novels Narcissa had collected over the years. She would occasionally be joined by any of the others and they would read in silence, enjoying the simple company of no longer being alone.

When the third day came to an end and Hermione and Bellatrix returned from a long walk along the country lanes that surrounded Malfoy Manor they found Minerva just about ready to leave.

"Are you leaving us?" Hermione questioned sadly "When will we see you again?"

"I shall not be away long, Hermione. But in case you have forgotten, I am still the Head Mistress of Hogwarts and though I am sure Professor Flitwick has done an excellent job in covering during my absence, I would like to make sure students are not creating havoc while I am away"

Hermione grinned. And she was convinced Minerva had some things to talk about with Ginny Weasley. "Of course, Minerva. Hogwarts needs you. I suppose I just got used to having everybody around"

Narcissa walked into the hall just at that moment and overheard the last comment. "Though I am sure Minerva has perfectly adequate chambers at Hogwarts I am quite happy to offer one of the rooms here at the Manor"

Minerva kindly accepted and smiled. She patted Hermione's shoulder for a moment. "I am very grateful, Narcissa. Sometimes you can't get away far enough from lousy, rowdy and misbehaving students. I will return in a few days"

She left the Manor and Apparated at the end of the gravel lane leading down to the gates. Hermione sighed and closed the heavy wooden front door. She turned and found Narcissa and Bellatrix standing side by side.

"Andy and Tonks have decided to stay" Narcissa smiled "It is easy access to the Ministry via the Floo Network and Tonks is convinced she can read every book in the library. And Andy... Andy likes the idea of having her sister back" She glanced at Bellatrix. "Both of them"

Bellatrix nodded. "Black Manor was destroyed by Aurors several years ago. It had been a Death Eater hide out for a few months. It was chosen by Voldemort himself. The Aurors came and a battle erupted. It was reduced to a pile of rubble and I feel no desire to rebuild it. However this..." She gestured around "...feels more like home than Black Manor ever has"

Hermione smiled. She knew what her wife was saying. Hazel eyes met dark brown. "Then we shall stay"

She followed Narcissa and Bellatrix into the large lounge and they sat down by the fire. Narcissa pulled up her legs underneath her and picked up the book she had been reading. It had been a gift from Hermione, who had sparked her love for Shakespeare. Bellatrix simply picked up the latest edition of the Daily Prophet.

Hermione glanced from her wife to her sister-in-law. Both were already lost in the world of words they were reading. The picture looked almost unreal, she realised. Narcissa with her legs resting underneath her reading Shakespeare and Bellatrix sprawled over the sofa, reading something as simple as a paper. She had never once dared believe that life could be so simple. So beautiful.

Malfoy Manor had once been the place where she was tortured but those memories no longer lingered between these walls. This was her home now. And she looked forward to starting over. There was a second chance. It hurt to realise that she had to leave things behind. But in order to move ahead, certain things had to be left behind. But so many beautiful things still lay ahead of her.

She did not need Harry. She did not need friendship that was based on dishonesty. She did not need his judgment and his arrogance. What she needed were those who saw her for who she was and who could see beyond everything she ever went through. She twirled the ring around her finger. It had cost her a lot. A lot had been lost. But so much more had been gained. Things that were broken had been restored.

Time had taken things away. But time had also brought things back together.


End file.
